


Alone Together

by i_cant_writex



Category: South Park
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M, Prison AU, Violence, also the non-con isnt between any of the ships, but not super detailed, minor relationships are creek and style, past trauma and mentions of past abuse, super minor tho, theres a happy ending tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-28
Updated: 2018-02-20
Packaged: 2019-03-10 10:27:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 11
Words: 24,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13500004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_cant_writex/pseuds/i_cant_writex
Summary: Leopold "Butters" Scotch wasn't new to prison, but being transferred from his small juvie to a larger adult prison was a scary prospect. He makes friends, and enemies, all while trying to navigate the new environment as a (somewhat) voluntary mute. He has to come to terms with his past and survive his present, a task harder than it might seem. His new family is there for him, but will it be enough to make it out in one piece?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [White Corridors](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12093747) by [orphan_account](https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account). 
  * Inspired by [White Corridors](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13518183) by [RoloReily](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoloReily/pseuds/RoloReily). 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! This will be a regularly updating work (it's all already written!). In addition, I would like to point out that this is strongly based on the fic "White Corridors" by an orphan account! That fic was discontinued, so this is my attempt to rework the idea and pick up where they left off! The og fic was an amazing read, even if unfinished, and I def recommend checking it out! 
> 
> But enough of this, onto the story!

Leopold Scotch was terrified. He hadn’t been on a prison bus since he had been sent to White Forest Juvenile Center in his hometown as a child. Now, he was being moved to a maximum security prison far away from everything, and everyone, he knew. He certainly wouldn’t miss the people, or the staff, or even the building. With everything that had happened to him there, he was actually glad to be moving on. But there was still something foreboding about the idea of going to a big, new prison, full of adults who had committed terrible crimes. He knew he was in no position to judge them for what they had done, not with his own history, but he also knew it would be a lot different from the place he had called his home for years. He could only hope that change would be for the better. 

Trying to take his mind off of the horrors that might await him, he tore his gaze away from the countryside sliding past the window to look at the other inmates on the bus. Looking behind him, there were only a few other people, but none of them looked friendly. He quickly looked forward again, eyes falling on the only person in front of him. Or rather, the legs of the only person in front of him. He seemed to be laying down across two seats, blocking the aisle. From how still he was, Leopold had to assume he was asleep. It was really a miracle how anyone could sleep so casually on their way to the place they would probably be spending the rest of their lives. 

Leopold turned his gaze back to the window and let his mind drift as the bus continued on its way, trying to avoid any thoughts that might send him spiraling into another panic attack. The last thing he needed was to have a breakdown before he was even within the prison gates. 

\---

Before he knew it, they had arrived. He did his best to control his breathing, taking deep breaths just like he had been taught, as he gathered his meager belongings. He stood, and waited for the stream of other inmates to pass before he finally stepped into the aisle. He didn’t get far before being confronted with the inmate who was asleep. His legs were bent at the knee, blocking his path. Leopold assumed the other inmates have simply stepped over the obstacle, but due to his own small size, he wasn’t confident he could do so without tripping over him. He could try and climb over, and possibly trip, wake him up and make him mad. Or, he could stay where he was, take too long, and make the guard that was receiving the inmates mad. 

He didn’t want to do either of those things, but given the choice, he would rather have a fellow inmate who he might never see again upset with him, rather than a guard who would be responsible for his life every day. Taking a deep breath, he took the biggest step he could, but right as his foot landed on the other side, he was startled so badly he wound up falling anyway. A large man wearing the guards uniform had come onto the bus to see what the holdup was, and upon seeing the man asleep, he had shouted out “Stanley!” loud enough to both wake the man and send Leopold flailing to the ground. The man whose name seemed to be Stanley sat up quickly. “Yo! Hey Chef!” He said, smiling. The guard, Chef, smiled and shook his head. “Hello to you too Stan. I would say nice to see you but what are you doing back here?” Stan opened his mouth to answer, but Chef cut him off. “Never mind, there's more than enough time for stories later. It’s time to get inside, and you made this poor boy fall over.” Stan looked down, seeing Leopold for the first time. 

“Oh! I’m so sorry I didn’t even see you!” Stan said, standing and pulling Leopold to his feet, helping him collect his stuff. Leopold was still maintaining his silence, feeling terribly overwhelmed by the entire situation, so he accepted the assistance gladly. He let Chef shepherd him off the bus to stand with the other inmates, with Stan following behind. Chef did a head count, and satisfied with the results, turned to lead them all inside. Everyone followed, Stan and Leopold taking the back of the line. As they walk through the corridor leading up to the gate, the group is bombarded with calls and whistles. Most of the inmates try to at least pretend to ignore it, not wanting to show their apprehensions so publically. But Stan notices the kid walking beside him can’t quite internalize his fear. “Hey, just ignore them. They’re just bored.” Stan tried to reassure him. Leopold hadn’t expected the other man to try and speak to him, much less in a soothing way, after he had already made himself a bother. However, he appreciated the gesture, nodding weakly to show he had heard.

The group moved from room to room, gathering paperwork and supplies like bedding, and undergoing tests and exams to prove they didn’t have any drugs or contraband on, or in, them. Through the entire process, Leopold was shaking like a leaf. Stan couldn’t contain his curiosity, constant glancing over at the other and trying to offer encouragement or kindness whenever he could. When they got their uniforms and ID, he finally learned the kid’s name. “Leopold, huh? Haven't heard that name before.” Stan said, trying to make small talk and keep Leopold from combusting from the stress and fears he seemed to be having. Leopold just nodded and shrugged, giving a watery smile as he tried to hold back his tears and keep his breathing even. There was just so much going on, he wasn’t sure how to cope with it. 

Stan noticed Leopold's continued silence, and how he responded only with gestures. Curious, he asked, “Do you not talk? Or just not right now?” Leopold shrugged again. Before, he had tended to be chatty. He had even earned a reputation of never shutting up. But now, it seemed easier, safer to avoid conversation. Stan seemed nice enough, and he appreciated the effort he was going through to keep Leopold company through all of this. He just couldn’t bring himself to verbalize any form of thanks.

The group left the last room and met up with Chef again. “I’m going to lead you to your temporary bunks, children. You’ll be there for tonight, and tomorrow you’ll get you permanent assignments in the blocks. Follow me closely and don’t get lost.” Chef warned, before starting to walk away. The group obeyed and followed closely, too out of depth in the new setting to even consider disobeying the order. After a few twists and turns, Chef lead them down a hall of rooms with open doors. At each door, he stopped and read off some names. The inmates called would enter the room, and the group would continue forward. By the time they reached the last room, the only people left were Leopold, Stan, and one other inmate. Chef directed them in, and Leopold tried to quickly size up the room. Two bunks pushed against each wall and not much else. Stan walked towards one of the bottom bunks, and the other inmate was already settling into the other. Leopold stood frozen in the doorway for a moment, before deciding Stan’s bed was the safer choice in top bunks. Stan had seemed nice enough and probably wouldn’t murder him for rocking the bed if he shifted at night.

Choice made, he scurried up the ladder, quickly throwing his stuff down before curling up beneath the thin blanket. It was already late in the day, because of how long the bus ride and introduction to the prison had been, so he really wanted to just go to sleep and try and forget where he was. He was overwhelmed and scared, and he wanted to avoid dwelling on his negative emotions. Of course, it could never be that easy. Instead of blissful sleep, Leopold found himself up half the night instead, tossing and turning. Come morning, he was exhausted emotionally and physically, and the dark circles under his eyes showed it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading the first chapter! I should update every other day or so, so def check back soon for more!


	2. Chapter 2

Leopold was always an early riser. He learned to be in White Forest, where getting to the showers first in the morning was a survival technique. As such, he was up and out of bed before most of the prison had risen for the day. He remembered a schedule for his first day being handed to him as part of the paperwork of the previous afternoon, so he fished it out of the stack, and glanced it over. It looked like he was able to shower in the morning. Quickly, he found the shower stuff within the supplies he had been given, and ventured out into the hall, looking for the bathrooms nearest him. By the time he found them, one or two other people were already showering, but Leopold did his best to stay very far away from them, and clean himself quickly. The scalding water felt amazing against his skin, and it was nice to feel clean again. 

When he finally got to the cafeteria, the prison had woken up. He felt the tension that had been almost forgotten in his solitary morning return, as he was once again reminded how much bigger this prison was than his old detention center. He allowed the crowd to sweep him into the food line, and he grabbed a tray, not wanting to hold anyone up. He wanted to keep his head low and stay out of trouble. He moved down the line with the rest of the inmates, accepting whatever was dropped onto his tray silently. When he reached the end, he turned, finally facing the cafeteria fully. When he truly got a good look at how crowded and chaotic it looked, he had to keep himself from panicking. His eyes darted around, looking for any empty spaces, but there didn’t seem to be any. Every table was occupied by a group already. 

After what seemed like an endless panic, his eyes caught a motion. Someone was waving- no, Stan was waving at him. Stan, the person who had been so nice to him during the check-in. His relief at a familiar face outweighed his automatic fear at the full table Stan was sitting at, and Leopold made his way over. He reached the table, but didn’t see any open spots right away, so he stood at the end by Stan, fidgeting nervously. 

“Hey, Leopold! You were gone before I got up this morning, but I was hoping I would run into you at breakfast! You looked like you could use a seat and we have plenty of room here if you want?” Stan said, smiling and gesturing to the table. To Leopold, it did not look like there was ‘plenty of room’, but as was becoming his norm, he held his tongue. Instead, he gave him a puzzled look, hoping that would convey his confusion about where exactly there was room for him to sit. Stan seemed to catch on quickly. “Oh, if Kenny moved over and stops hogging the bench, you can sit next to him?” The Kenny in question seemed to get the message, scooting himself and his tray over, leaving just enough room for Leopold to sit. Not wanting to refuse and look rude, not to mention have nowhere else to sit, Leopold walked carefully over to the offered seat, putting his tray and himself down where instructed. 

“So, everyone, this is Leopold Scotch. He doesn’t really talk much. Leopold, these are my friends. They’re all really nice, so no need to be worried.” Stan introduced, smiling. Leopold looked around nervously. It was true, they all did look nice enough- well, besides one of them. His eyes caught on a red-headed male sitting at the farthest end of the table, seemingly glowering at nothing on the floor. Kenny caught his look. “That’s Kyle. He’s nice too, he’s just mad at Stan right now because Stan was a dumb idiot.” Kenny explained. He was met with indignant silence from Stan. “I’m Kenny, as I’m sure you gathered. You’re Leopold? Scotch? Imagine if your first name was Butters, wouldn’t that be a great pun?” Kenny chattered away, not seeming to mind Leopold’s silence. The rest of the group went back to whatever conversations they had been having before Leopold had interrupted, leaving Kenny to the new guy. “Your eyes are the exact color of butterscotch too! I think Butters is a great nickname for you.” Kenny said with a little laugh. 

Leopold shrugged, a small smile forming on his own lips. Somehow, he couldn’t resist feeling a bit happier with Kenny’s positive attitude boosting his own. The rest of breakfast was spent with Kenny talking his ear off and Leopold, or Butters, as Kenny kept calling him, responded as best he could without talking. He was sad when it was time to leave, but he didn’t want to be late to orientation. Stan offered to walk with him, since he had to go through it as well, so it wasn’t too bad. His morning was turning out a lot better than his evening had been. 

Orientation was just as boring as he had expected, resembling a droning assembly. He sat through it, but he stopped paying attention pretty quickly. He knew the basic rules and policies from juvie, and they transferred pretty exactly. He was happy when orientation ended because his next stop was his counselor to get a room assignment. He had to part ways with Stan, but finding the right office wasn’t hard. He knocked on the door, entering quickly when he was told to do so. 

“Leopold Scotch?” The counselor asked. Leopold nodded. “Mkay, well, have a seat. My name is Mr. Mackey. Can you tell me what you are in prison for?” The man said. Leopold took the offered seat but didn’t answer, staring blankly at the floor instead. He knew why he was here, of course he did. He was just finding that he liked his continued silence a lot better than talking. Mr. Mackey frowned and flipped quickly through Leopold's file on his desk. “Mkay, there’s nothing in here about you not speaking. Is this a new development or are you just being difficult?” 

Leopold held up a single finger to indicate that it was the first half of the statement and nodded. 

“Mkay, well, that makes this meeting a bit harder. Well, for today I suppose I can just give you your assignment and let you get adjusted, but you will have to talk to me sooner or later.” He warning, looking down at his assignment list. “Looks like you’re in block A dorm 17. Do you know where that is?”

Leopold shook his head, brow furrowed. He really did not like the idea of getting lost in the dorm blocks, especially by himself. 

“Mkay, well if you take a left out of this room and go down the hall, turn when you get to the guard room and go past the B block, you should find it. If you get lost, just ask a guard, mkay.”

Leopold nodded and stood. He felt a little awkward leaving without saying any form of polite goodbye, but he did, turning and exiting silently. He carefully followed the directions until he reached A block, managing to do it without getting lost. He wasn’t sure he would’ve been able to ask for directions without passing out from the fear of approaching a guard. He followed the numbers within the block until he reached his own, trying to avoid making eye contact with any other inhabitants. Walking into dorm 17, he noticed his stuff had been moved to the unoccupied bed already, most likely while he had been in the meeting. 

Leopold took in the area carefully. He noticed that the diving ‘walls’ hardly came up to his shoulder, and the room was really just two beds and some sparse furnishings pushed against the dividers. His roommate wasn’t there, but he observed his side of the room, trying to figure out what type of person he would be sharing space with. There were magazine posters on the wall, and books on the shelves, making the space look cozy and lived in, a harsh contrast to Leopold’s baren side. 

He moved to stand by his bed, looking at the stuff on top. He started by making his bed up, and then he went through the few items that were left. He put away his shower and hygiene stuff and noticed a pile of clothes that were new. He assumed that meant he could swap from his orange jumpsuit to normal prison clothes. Leopold decided to change right away so that he could try and blend in properly. Tugging his shirt over his head, he tried to move quickly, before his roommate would come back.

Leopold almost jumped out of his skin at the low whistle that came from just behind him. Yanking on his new shirt almost hard enough to tear it, he spun around, only to be met with a laughing Kenny. 

“What’s up, Buttercup?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! I wanted to space out the updates more, but it's so tempting to post...so here's another chapter. I was also having a struggle with the notes system, but I think I've fixed it, so if anything looks weird or was acting oddly that's my bad! One last thing: feel free to mention any edits or revisions, because this isn't beta'd and I'm terrible with grammar ;-;.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and see you very soon!


	3. Chapter 3

Leopold, or Butters as he had started to think of himself, warped his arms firmly around himself, feeling exposed even through the shirt he was wearing. He glared at Kenny, trying to express his anger at being startled so terribly, but he couldn’t stay mad for long with Kenny shooting him an easy smile. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.” Kenny apologized, though his expression was still one of amusement. “Looks like you’re my new roommate! That’s cool, I’ve been wanting to get to know you more since breakfast. You don’t say much but you’re still fun to talk to.” He said.

Butters plopped back onto his bed, rest of his changing forgotten. He tied the jumpsuit arms around his waist instead, trying to ignore the reality that he better get used to changing in front of Kenny sooner rather than later. 

“So, how-” Kenny started to ask, before being cut off by a commotion down the block. Everyone’s heads turned towards the back of the block, where loud shouts could be heard. Automatically, Butters curled in on himself, trying to make himself smaller and less noticeable, an instinct developed at White Forest. Kenny, on the other hand, sprung up, a grim look clouding his bright features. “I knew those idiots would start something sooner or later.” He muttered to himself. Turning to Butters, he said clearer, “Stan and Kyle are up to their bullshit again. I’m gonna go break it up. Feel free to come if you want.” Butter’s didn’t really want to, but he also didn’t want to be left alone when there was tension in the air, so he uncurled himself with effort, and stood to follow Kenny. 

\---

They arrived to a mess and a crowd. 

Only pausing for a moment, Kenny was quickly pushing and nudging his way to the front. Butters followed him closely, his small size making it easy to slip past the people without them noticing. When they got to the front, Butters saw that true to Kenny’s prediction, the fighters were Kyle and Stan. Stan was standing as far against the far wall as he could without climbing onto the bed, and Kyle was stood across from him. Kyle looked furious, while Stan just looked like he was trying to reason with him. Negotiations were cut short as a book flew towards Stan’s face. “Fuck off! I’m not sharing with you!” Kyle shouted, grabbing another book from the many on his shelf. 

Stan expertly dogged the flying projectile, holding up his hands in a placating gesture. “Listen, Kyle…”

“Don’t you “listen Kyle” me you idiot!” Kyle growled, chucking another book. Stan dodged again, but Butters could see that he was starting to get angry. 

“What else could I do? You weren’t returning my letters, you weren’t calling, you wouldn’t let me visit! Kyle, you cut me off when I needed you! Do you have any idea how hard it is to try and restart your life on the outside with a criminal record? I needed my super best friend, dude, and you cut me off!” Stan snapped, emotion filling his voice. 

Kyle still didn’t seem to be having it. “I wanted you to forget about me! You were free, I didn’t want to hold you back and remind you of this place!” He countered. The emotion in his voice and the tension in the air must have affected his otherwise killer aim, because just as Kenny, and Butters with him, stepped forward to stop the fight before guards showed up, Kyle threw again. But this time, instead of hitting his target, he missed completely. Butters just barely had time to close his eyes before a heavy book was hurling into his face. The impact sent his tiny body flying backward, and he hit the ground hard, the book falling into his lap. He bent over, clutching his face, tears springing to his eyes at the pain. 

“God damnit Kyle, see this is what happens when you can’t have a civil conversation!” Kenny snapped, turning away from the bickering pair to see if Butters was ok. He crouched down to his level, carefully helping him sit up straight, and pulling his hands gently away from his face. It looked like the impact had sent his nose bleeding, but luckily, it didn’t look broken, and he told the boy as such. Kyle was strong, but the distance had been too short for the book to get too much speed. Kenny pulled out his handkerchief and pressed it to Butter’s nose, helping him hold it in place. Once Butters figured out the best way to stop the blood flow, Kenny stood and turned, glaring down a sheepish Kyle. 

The anger was gone from the situation, and sensing this, the crowd began to dissipate. 

“Now, can you idiots just talk about this? Stan was dumb for coming back and Kyle was dumb for cutting him off. Ok? Work it out.” Kenny ordered, stepping back from the two with his arms crossed, looking like a put-out mother more than anything. 

After a second of silence, Stan spoke first. “Don’t you get it? I didn’t want to forget about you. You have to stop making my decisions for me.” Stan said, looking sadly away. 

Kyle sighed. “I didn’t know what to do, ok? I didn’t want to hold you back but I didn’t want to let you go.”

“Now both of you apologize and get along so I can go fix Leopold.” Kenny said, eyebrow raised, daring either to disagree. 

“Alright, alright. I’m sorry for getting myself arrested again.” Stan said with a huff.

“And I’m sorry for cutting you off and...ahem...throwing things at you.” Kyle finished awkwardly. 

Kenny nodded, satisfied. “Now you assholes can put this dumb argument behind you. What’s done is done, Stan’s stuck here again, so let’s not spend the rest of our lives killing each other over it.”

Both boys nodded, and Kenny turned back to Butters, his job as mediator complete. Butters hadn’t moved from where he had fallen, not wanting to bring attention to himself, and not wanting to risk standing up in case he fell over again. “Come on Butters, let's see that face,” Kenny said with a smile, crouching down to his level. He used to deal with his little sister when she got hurt, and a lot of his mannerisms with her seemed to fit right into this situation. Kenny frowned when Butters uncovered his face, and immediately fresh blood began to flow. 

“Sorry to interrupt the doctoring, but ‘Butters’?” Kyle asked, confused. 

“Yeah, yeah, that’s his nickname, shut up for a second,” Kenny said. Kyle obediently backed off. Now that he wasn’t furious, he was starting to feel really guilty about smacking this kid full in the face with his projectile. 

“Alright, the bleeding should’ve stopped by now, so I guess we have to take you to the infirmary.” Kenny sighed. “As far as we’re all concerned, you tripped and hit the floor face-first.” As dumb as his friends could be, he didn’t want them getting into trouble, especially when the issue had already been resolved. Kenny stood and pulled Butters up with him, steadying him with a concerned hand when he swayed on his feet. He gave him a second once over, noticing how he could hardly hold himself upright. He hadn’t thought that he was hit that hard, but maybe he had been wrong in his first assessment. “Ok, let’s go. Dumb and dumber you can come if you want-” Kenny started to say, before he noticed Butters frantically shaking his head. “What, you don’t want them to come?” Butters tried to gesture than no, that wasn’t what he was protesting, but it was hard to communicate without words. Eventually, he got across his point, though. “You don’t want to go to the infirmary? Why? The bleeding hasn’t stopped yet at that is not good.” Kenny explained, confused. 

Kenny experimentally tried tugging him forwards, but he was met with such resistance he gave up right away. Butters was tiny and light, and he could drag him the entire way there, but he didn’t want to do that to the poor boy. Instead, he reverted back to the tactics he would use when his sister didn’t want to go to the doctor. It would be a bit harder without words to find out what was upsetting Butters so much, but he was going to try. 

“Are you scared?” A frantic nod. “Hmm. Is it because...something that happened in the past?” Another nod. Butters pointed all around them, and then made a “before” motion. It took a few tries, but eventually, Kenny got it. “Something...in another...prison?” He asked. Butters nodded, relieved that he got the message. Kenny stored that information for later. “Well, I don’t know what your experiences were like elsewhere, but here the nurse is actually really nice as long as you weren’t the one doing the hurting,” Kenny reassured, smiling. “Besides, if it makes you feel better, I’ll stay with you the entire time, and I won’t let anything bad happen to you.” 

Butters seemed to think it over for a moment, before tentatively agreeing. He shyly held out his hand, silently asking Kenny to take it so he would have something to anchor himself to. Kenny smiled, strongly reminded once again of his little sister. “Sure, Buttercup.” He answers to the silent question, and took his hand, leading him down the hall. 

Stan and Kyle watched the exchange, pleased to see Kenny acting in ways they hadn’t seen since they were growing up together. Those two were good for each other, they were in agreement on at least that much. Kenny seemed to have the situation under control, so they decided to stay behind. Besides, they had a lot of catching up to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah I feel like these chapters are super short,,hopefully I can make up for it by posting often oops,,
> 
> Also, thank you to everyone for the nice comments! It's honestly so amazing and motivational to read the kind feedback!!


	4. Chapter 4

When they arrive at the infirmary, Kenny can sense Butters’ reluctance to enter, but he pulls him forward anyway, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. They enter, and Kenny leads him over to the desk where the secretary is sitting. “Hello ma'am.” Kenny greets with a bright smile. The secretary just sighs. “What are you back here for, Kenneth? I thought you were done with fighting.” 

Kenny did his best to look offended, but it was hard when he was grinning. “I’m not here for me. This time I brought a friend.” Butters had been hiding behind Kenny a bit when they entered, so Kenny pulled him around front. At the sight of all the blood on his face, the secretary rolled her eyes. “What happened?” She asked Butters in a monotone. 

Butters frantically looked to Kenny to explain, starting to shake. He was trying to avoid any thought of the experiences he had in the past, but just being in a doctor’s office had his brain sending his body emergency signals. Kenny gave his hand another squeeze, trying to convey that it was ok. “This is Leopold. He doesn’t talk, but he sure knows how to trip.” Kenny said, smile still teasing the corners of his mouth. 

“Uh huh, if I had a dollar for every person who ‘tripped’.” She muttered to herself. “Anyway, what seemed to be the specific issue.” 

“His nose won’t stop bleeding,” Kenny explained, pulling away the handkerchief so she could really see the area of damage. The secretary nodded, making another note. “Alright, you can head on back, Butters. Thanks for bringing him, Kenny.” She said, waving to the door beside her window. To her, her job seemed to be done, but Butters stood frozen in place, grip on Kenny’s hand tightening. When Kenny gently tried to detach his hand from Butters’, Butters felt himself on the brink of a full-scale panic attack. As if sensing this, Kenny quickly resumed his grip, and tapped on the glass of the secretary window to get her attention. “Excuse me, can I go back with him? He’s a little nervous, and it’ll be easier for me to explain since he doesn’t talk.” 

The secretary rolled her eyes again, but nodded. “I don’t care, just get back there and stop getting blood on my floor.” 

Kenny flashed a smile at Butters as he pulled him through the door, sensing his reluctance and fear. “It’ll be ok, Butters. She’s probably not going to do more than look at you.” He murmured, filling the air with reassurances to keep Butters moving forward. The arrived at the room the nurse was standing outside of, and followed her inside. Butters was practically vibrating beside Kenny, he was shaking so terribly, and when Kenny tried once again to detangle their hands so Butters could sit up on the exam table, Butters directly refused to let go. With a sigh and a smile, Kenny hopped onto the table first, pulling Butters up with him. He knew a lot of people didn’t like doctors, but he couldn’t imagine what had to have happened in Butters’ past to instill such as deep fear. He felt bad for the by, and it only made his protective instinct stronger. 

Kenny explained the situation again to the nurse, while Butters focused on breathing and not passing out. He was so engrossed in his own attempts at meditation that when the nurse gently touched his nose, probably checking to see if it was broken after all, he jumped about a foot in the air. The nurse frowned. “Does it hurt that terribly?” She asked. Butters shook his head no. He had just been startled. The nurse tried again, and this time Butters was ready for her probing fingers, but he may have forgotten to breathe the entire time they were on his face. Finally, she pulled away. 

“I don’t see why the bleeding hasn’t stopped yet, it’s not broken or anything like that.” She said puzzled. “Give it ten more minutes of pressure, and see if that helps.” She said, showing them how to properly stop the blood flow. Once they seemed to have it under control she left them to their own devices, with a promise to be back soon. Kenny noticed that Butters still seemed nervous in the sterile medical environment, so he did his best to fill the space with idle chatter, telling Butters about himself, and where he had grown up. He, Stan, Kyle, and most of their table had grown up together, and it was an amazing coincidence that they had ended up in the same place for so many different reasons. Butters was happy to listen to Kenny’s stories, and it really did take his mind off the place they were.

When the nurse finally came back, he had almost forgotten about his hurt nose and bruised face. He immediately tensed when she entered the room, but all she did was instruct him to remove the gauze from his nose and see if the bleeding stopped. Miraculously, it had. “I guess it just needed more time, then.” She said with a smile. “Feel free to be on your way, since you seemed fixed up. If you need any advil or wipes to clean your face, ask the secretary.” She said, waving them out the door. This time, Butters was the one leading Kenny, excited to be far away from the sterilized medicinal feel of the place. Kenny stopped them long enough to grab both advil and wipes, Butters obediently swallowing the pills and allowing Kenny to wipe his face down when he wasn’t able to get all the dried blood himself. Finally, they were on their way to dinner, the day having gotten late without them even noticing. 

This time, when Kenny tried to separate their hands, Butters let him.

 

They made their way to the dining hall to find dinner already underway, so Butters followed Kenny through the meal line. He recognized two of the servers from breakfast earlier in the day, but he wasn’t sure what their names were. Both seemed nice enough, though, and greeted both him and Kenny as they passed. 

They made their way to the table, and sat, finding a bit of a realignment had gone on since they had last eaten with the group. Stan and Kyle were now side by side, as opposed to on opposite ends, and the pair seemed to have made up just fine, smiling and laughing with each other. Butters noticed their joined hands under the table, and assumed from that that they must be a couple. He was happy they had been able to make up over their fight so quickly. When Butters had sat down, Kyle had quickly put a pause on the conversation he had been having with Stan, turning to the new pair. “Are you ok?” He asked Butters, concerned and embarrassed. Butters nodded, smiling to reassure Kyle that he was fine. It would’ve worked a little better if the smile hadn’t turned into a grimace at the pain of scrunching up his face. He was definitely sporting a great black eye, and his nose was bruised and swollen. He was really ok, though. He had experienced a lot worse in his life, so the comparative pain was really rather low. 

Still, Kyle looked guilty. “I really am sorry. Sometimes my temper gets the best of me.” He winced, rubbing the back of his neck. That was an understatement. His temper was as fiery as his hair, and it wasn’t hard to set off. Butters made a ‘don’t worry about it’ motion with his hands, shaking his head. He was starting to get the hang of silent communication. The meal went without a hitch, and Butters got to know the different members of the group better. He learned that the two in the kitchen were named Craig and Tweek, and Kenny muttered into his ear that he would explain more about Tweek, and his constant twitching, later upon noticing Butters’ lingering looks. 

Butters spent most of the meal playing with his food rather than eating it, and it raised some concern from the group, but he just shrugged, passing it off. He didn’t really eat a ton anyway, and food just made him nervous and sick if he tried to eat too much. He noticed Stan and Kenny passing concerned looks over his head, but did his best to ignore it. He really was used to only eating a bit, and his stomach had adapted accordingly. 

Once dinner was done, they all went back to their respective dorms. They were all on the A block, the block for the least dangerous inmates who had proved they could behave. Butters and Kenny were in the middle, while Kyle and Stan were at the far end. Tweek and Craig were near Kyle and Stan. It was a coincidence that Kyle, Stan, Kenny, and Butters had ended up with their respective roommates, but Tweek and Craig were put together by request since Craig was the only one who could keep Tweek calm at night. 

Kenny decided to take the opportunity to change into his pajamas, so Butters did as well, wanting to do so quickly before Kenny turned back around. It was nice to finally be out of the bright orange he had never fully changed out of earlier. True to his word, once they were both changed and situated, Kenny sat down on his bed, patting the space next to him as an invitation. “Do you wanna know about Tweek now?” He asked. Butters nodded, curious as he moved to sit next to Kenny. He already had a liking for the twitchy blonde, even with his odd mannerisms. Kenny had noticed Butter’s drifting focus on Tweek as well, and since he was no doubt going to hear some story at some point, it might as well be the right one. 

“So Tweek was a huge drug kingpin. He grew up with the rest of us, and his parents had a coffee shop where they infused meth with the coffee. Drugs were always part of his life, and it was the business he knew, so it made sense for him to get into it. Craig was tied up in it too, that why they’re both here. Drugs are risky though, and of course, he got caught. Prison is a drug free zone, and obviously, he had withdrawal symptoms at first. He’s been addicted since he was a little kid so the symptoms just never went away. But he was able to manage it pretty well, since he’s been dealing with the dips and peaks of drugs his whole life. It all really went to hell when...this other kid from our town wound up in here.” Kenny paused, taking a deep breath. He was steeling himself to tell the next part. After a moment, he continued. 

“This kid is named Eric Cartman. I don’t think you’ve seen him around yet, but it’s only been a day. Trust me, you’ll run into him at some point. He’s hard to miss.” He laughed, but there was no humor in it. “Cartman has always been an asshole. He’s a bigot, a neo-nazi, and a racist. He’s sexist, homophobic, really the scum of the earth. He’s in here for political crimes - bribery, embezzlement, the works - and he is both powerful and crazy. He’s ruthless, so if you remember one thing, remember this: Never cross Cartman. Never make a deal with him. Just...avoid him.” Kenny’s eyes were far away, as if he was remembering something terrible that had happened. Shaking his head, he snapped back to the present. Butters gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder, frowning. He didn’t want his idle curiosity bringing up bad memories, but it also seemed like Kenny wanted to tell somebody the story. Someone who didn’t already know.

“Anyway, Cartman hates us all, and the feeling is mutual. He always thinks we’re plotting something against him, and he’ll use any opportunity to get back at us for these imaginary offenses. So he got it into his head that Craig was planning something. Lord knows what, but Cartman is a master at manipulation and finding weaknesses. He wanted to hurt Craig, so he went after Tweek. Those two have been inseparable since fourth grade, and getting thrown in here just doubled that.” Another deep breath. This was the hard part. “Basically, Cartman memorized their schedules. They are almost never apart, but sometimes one would stay later in the kitchen or something. They both take great pride in their work and their kitchen. In this instance, Tweek was staying behind to clean up a little more, while Craig went on ahead. Cartman used this to his advantage. When Tweek was alone, he snuck into the kitchen and…” Kenny had to take another pause, emotion seeping into his voice. “Let’s just say the cuts and burns healed but Tweek’s stability never did.”

Butters winced, reaching out and wrapping Kenny is a hug. He could see that the story, the memories, were painful. He couldn’t imagine what it had been like when this had actually happened. 

“Thanks, Buttercup.” Kenny said with a weak chuckle, voice watery. “It kinda sucked, yeah. Ever since Craig has had Cartman’s name on the top of his list and it didn’t help his relations with the rest of us. Just do me a favor and stay away from him. I’ll point him out next time I see him, but you’ll know right away.” Butters sat back, and Kenny stood up with a smile, though this one a little dimmer than his normal grins. “But that’s enough depressing stuff for one night. We have a bit of time before lights out, so I’m going to go brush my teeth and stuff. You’re welcome to come.” Butters declined with a shake of his head. He didn’t want to be too clingy, following Kenny around like a lost puppy. He liked the other boy a lot and didn’t want him to get tired of him.

Butters watched Kenny walk out, and reflected on his first full day. It had been an adventure already. He made a ton of new friends, surprisingly, and he had already spilled the first of his blood, not to mention made his first trip to the nurse. It was amazing how much could happen in a day. He almost found himself looking forward to the next morning, something that had never happened at White Forest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's me, back again because I have no self control! I swear every time I tell myself that I won't update more than once a day my fingers find their way to the new chapter button. Plus, the last update was super tiny. This one isn't much better but I hope it's a little more substantial (I swear these look so much longer on my googledoc).
> 
> Until tomorrow, bye!


	5. Chapter 5

The weeks moved by quickly, nothing exciting happening for a while. Butters was adjusting more and more to his new home, even if he had yet to say a word. The silence was starting to become his protective shell against the world, where before it had been his chatter. He found himself integrated more and more into Kenny’s ‘family’ and he and Tweek formed an especially close bond. Sometimes he would hang out in the kitchen with him and just listen to the blonde chatter away while he did his tasks. It was a surefire way to boost Butters’ mood.

Before he knew it, he had been there a month, and it was time to get his job assignment. Once again he found himself in Mr. Mackey’s office, sitting uncomfortably on the offered chair as the counselor tried to get him to speak and confess why he was in prison. Butters didn’t get why it was so important that he say it out loud, he already knew, and Mackey already knew, so what was the point? When that endeavor failed, the counselor moved on, asking Butters what job he would prefer. After a series of failed communications via motions, Mr. Mackey gave up and just started going down the list, Butters giving a head shake for each until he finally got to the kitchen. 

“Mkay, so you’d like to work in the kitchen? Why is that mkay?” He asked, jotting some notes down on his papers. Butters was starting to get seriously frustrated with the counselors’ lack of accommodation to the fact that Butters didn’t want to speak, and didn’t plan on speaking, especially not to him. Everyone else had adapted, and gotten better at asking yes or no questions, or interpreting his motions. Butters had even started to learn ASL with Kyle in the library. But it seemed like Mackey was determined to force him to speak. Unsure of how else to answer the question he had been posed, Butters just shrugged. He wanted to be able to work with Tweek more, he supposed, and the kitchen seemed fun enough. Plus, he was good at following directions. Of course, he wasn’t sure how to communicate all of that to Mr. Mackey, who was choosing to be particularly difficult to work with. 

After a few more pointless questions Butters couldn’t answer, Mackey finally let him go. “I guess you can work in the kitchen, mkay, since I don’t know where else you could work without talking. Report there tomorrow morning at 5 am, mkay, and I’m sure someone there can show you the ropes.” With that short note, he turned back to his paperwork, and Butters was dismissed. 

He didn’t really have anything planned for the day, so he wandered towards the library. Of all the places in the prison to hang out, it was his favorite, because it was often empty and quiet. Plus, he loved to read, and he was using all of his free time to learn ASL. Especially since Kyle was learning with him, in hopes that Butters could communicate a bit better. Both were quick studies, and it was remarkable how fast they were already progressing together. 

Today when he entered the library, he found it almost empty. Normally, at least Kyle was there, since the library was both his job and his domain, but today, it seemed like there were only a few other inmates at various tables. Butters debated for a moment before walking over to the language section, and pulling out a few books he had been working through. He never bothered to check them out, because he always came to the library to read anyway, and nobody else was using them. He brought them over to one of the tables, and sat down, quickly losing himself in the pages. He slowly signed to himself, trying to get used to the hand motions and what they meant. 

If he was being honest, it was nice to have something stimulating to do, something new to try and learn. At White Forest, there was no opportunity to learn or relax. He got so engrossed that before he knew it, it was lunch time, and everyone was getting up and heading to the cafeteria. He followed their lead, putting the books back neatly before joining the crowd in the hallway. He appreciated his small size during times like these, because he was able to avoid most of the jostling and bumping as everyone headed to lunch.

Butters made his way quickly through the lunch line, smiling at Tweek and Craig as he passed. They had started to give him smaller portions that he was almost able to finish, rather than the traditional sizes, and he appreciated that. He hated to waste food, he just couldn’t always stomach eating a lot. Going to the usual table, he slid into his spot between Kenny and Stan with a smile. Eating his food with small little nibbles, he listened to everyone talking about their morning. They got on the topic of jobs, and Stan turned to Butters with a smile. “So, I heard you went to see Mackey today. Did you get your job?” 

Butters nodded, smiling wide. He was glad he had gotten placed where he wanted without a fuss.

“Where are you working?” Stan followed up. Luckily, it wasn’t hard for Butters to explain. He pointed behind him towards the serving line, and then gestured to the entire room to further his point. “The kitchen? Nice, you’ll be with Tweek and Craig.” 

“Who’ll be with Tweek and Craig?” Craig asked, as he and Tweek joined the table. They got to eat with the rest of the group because they were mostly responsible for the cooking, and only helped with the serving when the line was at its busiest. 

“Butters got assigned to the kitchen with you guys!” Kyle explained.

“Oh, gah, that’s great Butters!” Tweek said, twitchy as usual. Butters smiled at his friend, nodding, excited to be able to work with him. Craig was still a little scary sometimes, but because Tweek and Butters were so close, Craig had definitely warmed up to him. 

Tweek, with assistance from Craig, spent the rest of lunch explaining the job to him. “It’s definitely, ah, easier to show you than just tell you, but I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it right away!” He encouraged. 

Lunch ended far too soon, and before they knew it everyone headed back to the A block, where they tended to spend their afternoon rest period. Butters and Kenny were relaxing on their separate beds, when Kenny suddenly sat up, and then stood, walking over to stick his head of the cube. Looking up the aisle, he seemed to assess something, before nodding to himself and walking back over to his bed. “Inspection is coming in a few minutes.” He said casually. Butters jolted up as if he had been zapped. Kenny looked confused at Butters panic. “What’s the matter, do you have something you shouldn’t?” He didn’t think the boy had anything, and he was almost sure he would’ve know about it if he did. That was confirmed when Butters violently shook his head no. “What is it then?” Butters started to sign aggressively, but Kenny couldn’t understand a thing he was trying to say. “Hold on.” He said, concerned. 

Getting up again, he walked down the block a little way before yelling “Kyle!” 

Kyle stuck his head out, confused. “Yeah, what?” He shouted back. 

“Can you come here for a second?”

 

“Sure, hold on.” His head disappeared again, before he re-emerged fully, walking over to where Kenny stood. “What’s up?”

“You were learning sign language with Butters right? Well I mentioned inspection because I think it’s happening in a few minutes, and he looks like he’s seen a ghost. He says he doesn’t have anything, and I believe that, but he’s trying to tell me something and I can’t understand any of it. Can you translate?” Kenny explained quickly. 

Kyle nodded, puzzlement on his face. “Lead the way, man.” He said, and Kenny did. It was only a few steps until they were back in Kenny’s section, and Butters hadn’t calmed down since he had left. His eyes were wide and his hands were shaking. Kyle plopped down across from him on Kenny’s bed, concern clouding his features. “Hey, what’s wrong?” He asked softly, watching carefully as Butters began to sign. Neither of them were fluent, and his motions were choppy, and not grammatically correct in the least, but it was enough for Kyle to get the point. 

“So that means before or like, in the past...so I’m guessing your old place?” A nod. “So something happened there...that sign means aggression behavior...so I’m guessing he’s trying to say that his last experience with an ‘inspection’ was violent or otherwise terrible.” Another nod. “If that’s what you’re worried about, you don’t have to be.” Kyle explained with a relieved smile. “Unless you have something to hide, and you don’t, they just come in, look around a little, and move on while you stand outside.” Butters took a breath and nodded again to show he understood. He knew he could trust Kyle when he said there was nothing to be afraid of, there were just so many terrible connotations with inspections for him in the past that one reassurance wasn’t enough to erase his bad memories. 

In White Forest, even if you had nothing, (and nobody ever did), the guards came in and threw everything around, shoving inmates and yelling at them to clean up the messes the guards made. He had seen more than one innocent kid fall under a guard’s baton for not moving out of the cell fast enough. 

Kenny looked like he wanted to add something as well, but before he could, they heard a shout from the front of the block. “Inmates step outside of your sections!” Kyle stood. “I better get back to my place. Everything is ok, Butters. Trust me.” He reassured one last time before dashing off. Kenny moved to do as he was told, but he noticed that despite the reassurance, Butters seemed frozen in place. “Butters, come on…” He muttered, gesturing to the hallway. When the boy still didn’t move, Kenny offered a hand, pulling him to his feet. He was worried he would have to literally pull Butters out the door, but it seemed he just needed to be jump started. As soon as he was on his feet he went scurrying out of the section, obediently mirroring Kenny in where he stood, back against the wall that was to the side of their doorway. 

Butters tried his best not to look suspicious as the guards, most of whom he didn’t recognize, moved in and out of dorms. Meanwhile, Kenny was glancing over at him with concern. He was really starting to wonder what sort of place Butters had been in before, to give him so many deep-set tramas. It seemed everything that was part of prison life set him off. It was hard to find out, though because even with his new education in sign language, it wasn’t easy to communicate, especially without Kyle to translate. Kenny thought about learning with them so he too could understand more complex things from Butters, but he didn’t have the time to keep up with it and the other two outpaced him by too much. 

He found himself once again returning to the question that loitered in the back of his mind. What had Butters done to be punished so harshly for his crimes? This wasn’t his first prison, and his last one had apparently been tough. But he knew it was rude to ask, and he didn’t want to trigger more terrible memories, so he was left wondering. Still, it couldn’t hurt to ask...brow furrowed, he considered the pros and cons. The worst that could happen was Butters getting upset with him for asking, Kenny reasoned. It wouldn’t hurt to try? He resolved to bring it up whenever he was able to do so naturally, the curiosity killing him. 

Finally, the guards were satisfied with the condition of the block, nobody hiding anything. That was good, that meant there wouldn’t be another inspection for awhile. Everyone was dismissed to resume their activities. Kenny and Butters went back into their dorm. Kenny tried to go back to the relaxing that he had been doing, but now that he had committed himself to asking what got Butters in here in the first place, he found it hard to put it off. 

“Hey, Butters, can I ask you a question?” Kenny asked, sitting up on his bed. Butters mirrored him, nodding but looking a little concerned. “Ok, great. I totally get if you don’t want to answer, or can’t, and I’ll totally answer as well, but…” He paused, before deciding to just commit to it. “What are you in for?” He tried to make it sound light and joking, trying to mask the severity of the question in humor. Butters looked almost upset for a second, and Kenny was worried he messed up, but his face quickly smoothed out again, and he shrugged, nodding. 

Butters paused, trying to think of how to best express what he needed to. In the end, he decided to go for the simplest option. The classic motion that would very clearly convey what he had done. 

He drew a finger across his throat and held up the number 2.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to make these longer but it's so hard when ao3's webpages are so...wide... i'm trying my best ajhfjfje
> 
> Thank you all again for the positive feedback and support! Every single comment or kudo I get makes me so impossibly happy!!!!
> 
> Until next time~


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has some minor homophobic/problematic language bc Cartman so if you're sensitive to that, please use discretion!

At first Kenny thought he was kidding. But the pained expression on his face, and the tint of fear, presumably at how Kenny would react, weren’t jokes. He had no idea how Butters had managed to kill not one, but two people. The kid was hardly 5 feet, and a stiff wind could blow him away. Not to mention he seemed too sweet to ever do such a thing, but Kenny would be the first to tell you people weren’t always what they seemed. 

“Who? How?” Kenny asked, shocked to his core. He knew that he was prying, probably bringing up bad memories, but he was too amazed at this new depth to Butter’s character to care. He wanted more information. Of course, the vocal barrier once again got in their way. Butters made a gesture that was probably a sign, but Kenny couldn’t understand him, and Butters knew it. He shrugged helplessly, gesturing behind him, trying to convey ‘down the hall’. “Oh, should I get Kyle? Do you mind them knowing?” Kenny asked. He knew that to most inmates, their cause of arrest was personal, and for something as deep as murder, it was doubly so. But Butters just shrugged, gesturing again. Kenny accepted that as his consent, and stood to go get Kyle once again. Kenny walked to Kyle’s section this time, gathering both him and Stan. He briefed them on the short walk back, because there wasn’t much to say, yet. 

They returned quickly, and Kenny spoke up quickly. “Kyle, maybe you should sit with him so he can talk to you and Stan and I can take my bed?” He asked. He didn’t want Butters to feel like there was an interrogation panel against him, and he thought breaking the group up so it wasn’t three against one would help. Everyone agreed on the arrangement, and Kyle plopped down next to Butters, sitting cross legged and facing him so he had his undivided attention. 

“Let’s start with the basic stuff. If you’re uncomfortable with anything you don’t have to answer, ok?” Kyle said. Butters gave an affirmative nod, and the questions began.

“Who was it?” Butters quickly did a sign, and Kyle couldn’t contain his shocked look. “Parents?” He asked, unsure if he had seen correctly. But Butters nodded shyly, looking embarrassed and nervous. “Why?” He followed up, and Butters thought for a second before doing a few more signs, less confidently. Kyle did his best to interpret the short words. “Hurt...belt? Constant...too much. Knife.” Both Kyle and Butters had the same pained expression, for different reasons. Kyle felt terribly for the boy who had been through so much, and Butters was trying his best not to get sucked back into the memories. 

Meanwhile, Stan and Kenny were able to make their own connections based on the words Kyle had said aloud. Kenny couldn’t help but be furious at the parents that had driven Butters to such measures. Abusive and neglectful parents were the one thing he hated most in this world, after what he himself had grown up with. It seemed that Stan shared his feelings on the issue, if the expression on his face was anything to go by. 

Noticing the dark atmosphere that had settled over the area, Butters tried to shrug the issue off. It was in the past, it was done now. He had made his peace with it. Instead, he had questions of his own, and he wanted the heavy attention off himself. He pointed at Kyle, then Stan and Kenny, and signed a question mark. They got the message pretty quickly. “Oh, I’m here for dumb stuff, just Cybercrime.” Kyle said with a sheepish grin. 

Stan looked equally embarrassed at his crime. “Well, the first time I may have robbed a store while slightly intoxicated, and the second time I may have repeated that but with a weapon.” Kyle made sure to glare at him, still not entirely over the anger at his permanent return even if their fighting on the issue was in the past.

That just left Kenny. He signed when it got to him, but he did promise to tell, and he stuck to his word. “It’s a long story but basically my town had a serial rapist and murderer and nobody could catch him. Well when I was out late one night, I ran into him in the middle of the act, and just saw red. He died, but unfortunately, I was too late to save the last victim as well. I don’t regret killing him, but I regret that I couldn’t save her.” He said, eyes far off once again. Butters couldn’t help but stand and take the two steps across the space to wrap him in a big hug. He himself had spent too much of his life lost in memories, and he didn’t want Kenny to do the same. 

“Thanks Buttercup, you always know how to make me feel better.” Kenny said with a little laugh, returning the hug strongly. Butters knew that a hug couldn’t fix the past, but it could at least help the present. 

The dark tension in the air was broken when noise filled the corridor. Dinner time. It was always amazing to see everyone move so in sync just three times a day, but it seemed everyone’s internal clocks were set to know exactly when it was time for food. This group was no different, and as soon as they realized where everyone was going, they joined the crowd, trying to move on from the heavy conversation. At this point, it was easy for Butters to navigate the crowd, using his small size to his advantage and beating most of the group to the dining hall. As such, he was normally the first to grab their table, with Kenny or Kyle normally quick behind him, and Stan meandering his way over eventually. The whole group was finally sat down, Tweek and Craig included, all laughing at some joke, when a dark shadow fell over the table. 

Everyone turned slowly to see who was interrupting their dinner, and immediately, expressions darkened and the mood fell. Craig pulled Tweek close against his side, running soothing fingers against the blonde’s hip to keep him calm. Butters seemed to be the only one confused, but Kenny quickly cleared it up for him. “Remember the guy Cartman I was telling you about ages ago? Well he’s been smartly avoiding us recently, but I guess this is your formal introduction to him.” Kenny said, disgust clear on his face.

“Hello Poor Boy, Hippy, Jewrat.” The large man standing at the end of their table greeted, a smirk across his face. 

The response was immediate from Kyle, almost reflexive at this point. “Don’t belittle my people, fatass.” He snapped, anger flashing across his features. He looked perfectly ready to jump up and start a fight, the only thing holding him back being Stan’s hand on his.

“I see this is the fag convention.” Cartman continued, as if Kyle hadn’t said anything. “Have you finally joined their ranks, Kinny?” He drawled, knowing just how to accent his words to piss everyone off. “Got a little bitch now? How cute, do you mind sharing?” He inquired rhetorically, still with the mocking smile across his face. He trundled over to their side of the table, and Butters couldn’t help but shrink back as Cartman got way too close. Kenny snapped when Cartman reached out and grabbed Butters by the chin, turning his head this way and that as if examining livestock. Butters looked about ready to cry or run or both, and even though Kenny knew all Cartman wanted was a reaction, he couldn’t help but give in. “Don’t touch him, fatass.” He growled, smacking Cartman’s hand away. 

Cartman raised an eyebrow in mock offense. “Assaulting other inmates now are we?” He asked, pretending to think. “Hmm… that can get you into a lot of trouble you know. How would your poor little bitch survive without you? I know I’ve got room for you sweetheart…” He purred, patting Butters on the head. Kenny had had enough. 

“You think that was assault? I can show you assault.” Kenny hissed, standing, ignoring the protests of his tablemates. Butters frantically tugged at Kenny’s shirt, silently pleading him to sit down and ignore the other man, but he was brushed off. Cartman was looking a little concerned at the threat of physical confrontation he wasn’t expecting, and Kenny took a deep joy in that. Almost as much joy as the satisfying feeling of his fist meeting Cartman’s pudgy little face. 

Kenny wanted to do more, wanted to kill the bastard for everything he had done to his best friends, but he knew that he was in enough trouble already, and he did want to see the outside of a solitary cell someday, so he settled for the one punch, immediately stepping back and showing his hands. The guards were already on their way over at a run, and Cartman was on the floor acting like he had been shot. 

“Christ, Mccormick, again?” one asked, and Kenny just shrugged. “He deserved it. He was making unwanted advances towards one of my friends and using slurs against another.”

“Those are all lies!” Cartman squealed from the floor, holding his face and trying to make himself look pitiful. “He assaulted me for no reason!”

The guards just sighed. “McCormick, you know where you’re headed. Cartman, infirmary, then we’ll decide what to do with you. I think you’ll be seeing the warden yet again.” Turning to his colleague, he said, “I’ll take McCormick, you take the other one.” Kenny went willingly enough, but Cartman was still trying to play the victim, and it took two guards to haul him off because he kept insisting he had a concussion and couldn’t walk by himself. 

The commotion over with, most of the cafeteria returned to what they had been doing before. Butters’ table turned back to each other, all various degrees of angry. Butters couldn’t help but feel bad, feeling like it was his fault that Kenny got into the fight in the first place. Everyone else was busy hating Cartman even more than they had previously. 

Butters tapped on the table to get everyone's attention, and then signed his question to Kyle. “How long? How long will he be in solitary? Well, it was fighting but only a single punch, and all the guards hate Cartman anyway, so probably only a few days. Maybe a week.” Kyle explained, his temper still flaring in his eyes. He had hated Cartman since childhood, and it seemed that every time he saw the man he managed to make that anger and hatred grow. 

Butters, meanwhile, was trying to figure out what it would be like to be without Kenny for as long as a week. Kenny had understood him in a way many of the others couldn’t, even though he appreciated them all dearly for their own reasons. He had literally met and befriended Kenny on day one, and the boy had been there for him from the very start. It was only a few days, but in prison, time was different. He couldn’t help but stay deep in thought about the issue long after dinner had ended and he was curled up in his own bed. Maybe, just maybe, this affection, the attraction he felt for the other was more than a strong friendship. Maybe there was something more there, but Butters didn’t want to think about it. Prison only had so many people, and you saw the same faces day in and day out. It was the worst place to ruin a friendship with unwanted romantic feelings, and he was determined not to let it happen. 

Who knew, maybe he had just imprinted on Kenny like a duckling and a week without him would allow him to get to know his other friends more. 

Of course it couldn’t be that easy. It was oddly hard to go to sleep without Kenny’s even breathing beside him, and he found himself uncomfortably cold without Kenny pressed against his side at the breakfast table the next morning, brightly laughing at something someone had said. 

The day seemed to drag on longer now that he didn’t have his time with Kenny in the afternoon to look forward to. He tried to spend his time with his other friends, and it was just as fun as it always was, but there was something missing. The day just wasn’t the same without Kenny, and Butters was really starting to realize how much he valued the other. His mind started to try and connect the feelings he was having with the realization he had the night before, but he shut it down, refused to let it continue. He didn’t want to think about it, didn’t want to ruin what they had especially since it seemed he was so dependent on Kenny in his day to day life. 

His active avoidance of his thoughts didn’t stop him from curling up on Kenny’s mattress instead of his own that night when he went to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I almost don't want to post the next chapter bc it makes me sad ;-; This chapter is another bby one but I need to split it here bc this is where it makes the most sense ;;
> 
> That being said, no spoilers but if you are sensitive to minorly graphic non-con, be advised for the next chapter! I'll put a more extended warning/etc at the top of that chapter, but just so you know!!
> 
> Until next time ~


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT NOTE!!
> 
> This chapter has some rather graphic non-con. If you aren't comfortable with that, please don't continue! It is pretty much from the get-go of the chapter, so be careful! If you want to skip that part but want to continue reading, if you go to the three dashes (---) it should be ok? Still, if you are really sensitive, it might be better to cut your losses!

Butters woke up to a strange noise. At first, he was disoriented, unaccustomed to the wall behind on his left instead of his right. He quickly remembered where he was, though, and his eyes adjusted too. Peering into the darkness, he saw a dark shape moving around his side of the room, shuffling through his stuff. He sat up, blanket half draped over himself as he tried to figure out who could possibly be messing with his stuff so late. When he shifted, the bed squeaked and Butters froze. It was too late. The dark figure turned towards him and Butters vaguely recognized it as Cartman from the sheer size of the man. Butters cocked his head to the side, trying to convey his confusion through the dark. 

Cartman’s beady eyes narrowed, and he stepped towards Butters, his silence making him seem all the more terrifying. Butters was pretty sure he knew where this was going, and he wanted to scream, make any sort of noise at all, but when he opened his mouth, nothing came out. His vocal chords were out of practice from disuse, so he was truly trapped in silence as Cartman moved closer still. Seemingly satisfied that he wouldn’t scream, Cartman moved until he was practically on top of him, sending him flat against the bed with a strong shove. “What, cat got your tongue?” He asked softly, smirk back on his face. “Or maybe, Kenny got your tongue?”

 

Butters shook his head frantically, more at the situation than the statements, trying to silently plead with the larger man to leave him alone. He tried to squirm away but Cartman’s hand darted out, surprisingly agile, and pulled him back. He sat on Butters’ hips, preventing him from being able to get away as he took his time examining his face just like he had done in the cafeteria. “You really are a pretty little thing. Kenny isn’t good enough for you. You should play with the big boys.” He cooed, stroking Butter’s face with deceptive gentleness. All it did was make Butters recoil further, disgust curling through his body at the motions. 

That seemed to be the wrong reaction to have.

Cartman’s honeyed smile quickly turned into a glare, and his hand shifted from petting Butter’s face to squeezing at his throat. “Why don’t you squeal for me, sweetheart?” He cooed mockingly, grip tightening. His fingers could almost meet in a full circle around Butters’ little neck. If there was any chance of Butters getting his voice to work, it was ruined by the hand around his throat. “Hmm, nothing? Then I think you’d better take those pants off, wouldn’t you agree?” He asked sweetly. 

Butters froze. Fear pierced through his body and he found himself wishing that somebody, anybody would sense something wasn’t right and come to save him. 

But of course, the real world doesn’t tend to work like that, and he found himself helpless as Cartman shifted enough to yank at Butters’ pajamas, the prison-issued sweatpants sliding down easily.

Leopold closed his eyes and tried to send his mind away, but harsh reality kept pulling him back. He couldn’t help the tears the traced down his cheeks as Cartman chuckled, keeping a hand on his throat so he didn’t get any ideas about squirming away, not that Butters could move in his current state of fear. 

“Look at me.” Cartman demanded, unceremoniously shoving Butters’ legs apart. Butters didn’t, couldn’t, and Cartman made his displeasure clear. He shoved his own pants down just far enough to get them out of the way, slotting himself right up against Butters’ ass. “Look. At. Me.” He growled again. “Tell Kenny that this is what happens when he fucks with me. You better let him know that his actions have fucking consequences.” 

He shoved forward, and Butters’ eyes finally snapped open as his mouth opened in a silent scream. He had never felt pain like this before; it felt like he was literally splitting in half. He wasn’t very big, and Cartman was massive, so the combination was one of terrible suffering for Butters. Tears poured down his face is uncontrollable waves, and he felt warmth and wetness slip out of him with every aggressive thrust. He could only assume it was blood. 

Cartman seemed to be enjoying himself, at least, and he made his pleasure clear with little grunts and noises Butters was sure he would be hearing in his nightmares. His body just couldn’t take the emotional and physical trauma it was experiencing, and his eyes started to roll back in his head as he felt himself on the brink of passing out.

Of course, Catman couldn’t let him have that one mercy. A sharp slap hit his face, and he winced, but snapped back to the present. “Don’t you dare pass out on me now. You don’t get to wuss out of this.” Cartman snapped, never slowing his thrusts. “I can see why Kenny likes you. You’re a good little fucktoy. Tight.” He hissed, hips starting to stutter in their rhythm in what Butters could only hope was him approaching his climax. But much to his surprise, Cartman pulled out completely after a few more thrusts. “Can’t have any evidence for you to go crying to your friends with.” He explained, pulling Butters up by the hair until he was sitting up as best he could while his hips and lower body were practically on fire with the pain. 

Butters very quickly figured out what Cartman was planing when his head was shoved forward onto his dick. He choked around it when he was shoved down too hard and too fast, but Cartman didn’t seem to care about his gagging and sputtering. Butters tried to remember how to breathe, but he couldn’t draw enough air. Cartman yanked him off for a second, allowing him just enough time to gulp in a breath or two amidst his coughing, before shoving him back down. Butters wasn’t doing much of anything besides choking, but it seemed to be enough, because it was only a few seconds before Cartman was climaxing right down Butters’ throat. 

Cartman yanked him off by the hair once again, and holding him up and just observing as he coughed and struggled to swallow and breath at the same time, seeming pleased with himself. Butters was just glad that he was done. Satisfied, Cartman threw him back against the bed, and climbed off, looking once more at the mess he made as he pulled his pants back up. “Remember, give that message to Kenny,” he said, smirking. He was sure the message would be received loud and clear. Nobody fucked with Eric Theodor Cartman and got away with it. Nobody.

\---

They noticed something was wrong when he didn’t show up for his job that morning. Butters was an early riser consistently, and he loved getting to breakfast duty in the morning when the prison was still quiet, to hang out and make the food with Tweek and Craig. 

They really noticed something was wrong when he wasn't at breakfast at all. Butters followed a routine, he liked to stick to the same patterns every day. He also liked to hang out with his friends and spend time with them. It wasn’t like him to go missing for no reason, so they started to look for him right away. Kyle went to check the library, while Stan went to go ask around. Tweek and Craig went to go see if he was still in his dorm, since none of them had thought to check if he was still there this morning. Why would they? He was always the first out, so why should today be any different?

There was nothing in the world that could have prepared them for what they saw. Seeing nothing from the hall, they had stepped into the room, only to spot Butters right away. He was still unconscious, asleep or just passed out, (there wasn’t a difference at this point), sprawled across Kenny’s bed, the blanket hanging off his hips doing nothing to hide the bruises on his face and neck or the blood on the sheets. They knew right away what had happened, and they had a pretty good idea of who did it. 

Tweek detached himself from Craig’s side, moving forward slowly as if he still couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Gently nudging Butters to wake him up, his heart broke when the boy woke instantly and scrambled backward, warping the blanket around himself more fully. Tweek knew what it was like to suffer at the hands of Eric Cartman. He knew the pain, the fear that was no doubt filling Butters’ body and mind. That’s what allowed him to keep his twitches at bay, his tics temporarily suppressed as he sunk to his knees beside the bed and held out his hands, letting Butters make the first move.

When the fear that had immediately clouded Butter’s vision cleared when there was no immediate attack, he was able to realize that the person in front of him was Tweek. Once that set in, he understood the blonde was no threat to him. He even hazily remembered Tweeks’ own history with Cartman. Mostly he just recognized a kind face. But whatever the reason, he couldn’t help but throw himself forward into Tweeks’ impressively steady arms, sobbing. Tweek hugged him back, tears of his own sneaking into his eyes. He had no idea how one person had the ability to be so terribly cruel. 

Craig, seeing Tweek had the immediate situation under control, went to go find the others. At least they could have some warning as to what they were going to be faced with. Kenny had hardly been gone a day and they had already managed to leave Butters vulnerable to Cartman of all people. Who else would do something so cruel to someone so sweet? Probably just to get back at Kenny for the punch, too. 

By the time Craig had gathered everyone and returned to Butters and Tweek, the two had changed positions, sitting up on the other bed, a new blanket wrapped comfortingly around Butter’s shoulders as Tweek muttered softly to him, twitches starting to show through again. The new arrivals didn’t want to crowd the pair, so they hovered around the doorway, unsure of what to do. Kyle was the first to speak up. “It was Cartman wasn’t it.” He asked softly, not really a question. Butters nodded, tears springing back to his eyes. 

Stan was next, the voice of reason as always. “We need to get you to the infirmary. I know you don’t like that place, but they can get evidence against Cartman and that fat asshole can finally get what’s coming to him.” He said, trying to keep his tone even, though he couldn’t stop a bit of anger from seeping in. 

“He can hardly walk.” Tweek pointed out. The group thought for a second, before everyone’s eyes settled on Craig. He was the tallest, and strongest. But for him to carry Butters, the boy would have to be ok with it. They didn’t want him getting any more upset. Lord knew he had enough at this point. Tweek seemed like the most likely candidate to convince him, so the pressure shifted to him.

“Butters, I know you’re scared and upset and want to be, gah, left alone but Craig is really super nice and he won’t hurt you. He can seem scary but he’s really amazingly gentle, ack! Let him carry you so that we can get this over with? I’ll stick with you the entire time!” Tweek promised. Butters though for a second before nodding hesitantly. He knew Craig, he trusted Craig. Or at least, he tried to keep reminding himself that he did. 

He couldn’t help the sharp flinch when Craig scooped him up, blanket cocoon and all. He appreciated having something to hide in, though, when he and his entourage made their way through the (thankfully mostly empty) halls. The trip was a short one, and before he knew it, he was peeking out as Kyle explained in soft tones what had happened to the secretary. She quickly waved them back, none of the good-natured boredom from his first day evident in her concerned attitude. The nurse met with them quickly. Craig gentle deposited Leopold onto the table, and she tried to shoo everyone out, but Tweek insisted he stay, because he had promised, and Kyle stayed to translate. The others were quickly ushered from the room, though. 

“Can I touch you, Leopold?” The nurse asked, and after she receiving a small nod, she unwrapped the blankets surrounding him gently. Her eyes were met with a tragically frequent scene. She performed her exam quickly, assessing that there was no lasting physical damage. She wished she could say the same for his mental state. Every time her hands made contact with his body, he jumped, seemingly unable to help himself. Once she had finished her observations and made her notes, she looked at him seriously. “Leopold, who did this?” Leopold quickly signed a series of letters. The nurse looked confused, but Kyle quickly stepped in. “He spelled out the name ma’am. ‘Cartman’” Kyle explained. 

“Oh, right, he’s the one that doesn’t speak.” The nurse recalled, looking pained. “Unfortunately, the prison rules state that in order to convict someone of an inner-prison crime, the victim must verbally state who the culprit is-” Seeing the boys about to protest, she held up her hands in a placating gesture. “I know it’s a dumb rule! I didn’t make it, and I hate to enforce it. But as far as the warden is concerned, this didn’t happen unless Leopold can verbally say it did.” She explained, looking as aggravated as the boys felt. “For now, all I can say is help your friend get cleaned up and changed, and be there for him so something like this never happens again.” With that, they were dismissed. The nurse walked out, and soon after, Craig returned, without Stan. He explained that Stan had gone to get clean sheets, to remake both the beds. “In the meantime, there shouldn’t be anyone in the shower now, and I bet you’ll feel better after you’re clean,” He said to Leopold, hoisting him back up as he spoke, a tint of concern marring his normally monotone voice. 

Craig had predicted correctly. The showers were empty, most people at their jobs at this point in the day. Butters was able to take a few wobbly steps on his own, so they left him to his own devices to clean up, wanting to give him privacy. Still, they blocked the door, redirecting everyone to other bathrooms while Kyle ran off to get a fresh set of clothes. 

Meanwhile, Butters turned the water up to scalding, trying to literally boil away the germs and dirty touches he still felt against his skin. Scrubbing seemed fruitless, and he couldn’t seem to escape the sleazy, crawling feeling across his body. Eventually, he just gave up, turning off the water and warping himself in the towel he had been given when they had left him to shower. Peeking out the door, he saw his friends sitting around. When they saw him, though, Kyle jumped up, walking over to him with a fresh change of clothes. Butters took it thankfully, and retreated back into the bathroom to change while everyone pretending not to notice how red his skin was from water that had clearly been far too hot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter made me sad ;-; I'm terrible at writing that sort of scene and the aftermaths of it, so I'm sorry if it doesn't seem super accurate or something ;; I feel so bad for poor Butters he deserves better.
> 
> Also its so hard to make these chapters long omg,,,
> 
> We hear from Kenny next chapter and see some reactions, so stay tuned! 
> 
> Until next time ~


	8. Chapter 8

Kenny was entering his second day of solitary. He was used to being in the box at this point. He was too fond of picking fights not to be accustomed to the isolation. However, this time, the guard had informed him he would probably be free in a remarkably short amount of time. Nobody liked Cartman, and Kenny had used self-restraint to not beat him to a pulp. 

Still, in solitary, time seemed to drag on forever. It gave Kenny a lot of time to think. For some reason, he found his mind wandering back again and again to a particular blonde. It had only been a little over a month since he had met Butters, and in prison time, that’s almost nothing. But he had quickly worked his way into both Kenny’s family and Kenny’s own life. He had only been away from him a day and he was already realizing how much time they really spent together. He liked the jumpy kid, obviously, but having too much time to think was making him start to wonder if there wasn’t something more there. He hadn’t been in a relationship in a very long time, hadn’t even slept around with anyone. But something about Butters made him want to reconsider his stint of abstinence. Of course, maybe that was just the isolation talking. 

\---

He never expected it when they opened the door. Half the time, they threw him into solitary with no set time limit, not that he had any means of keeping time anyway, so when he was released it was always a surprise. 

The first thing he wanted to do was go see Butters. It felt like it had been ages since he had seen the other, even if it had just been a few short days. Prison warped time, and isolation warped it more. When he finally got to see a clock, he saw the timing was perfect. Butters and the rest of the gang should be in the A block, having the afternoon break. He couldn’t help but hurry back, excited to see all of his friends again. 

As luck would have it, he ran into Tweek first. “Hey man, nice to see you again! I’m free! Have you seen Butters around?” Kenny asked. He was puzzled when the twitchy blonde only shouted “Too much pressure!” and ran. 

It seemed like everyone was out and about today, because he ran into Stan next before making it to his and Butters’ section. “Hey dude! Nice to see you again! Is something up with Tweek? He’s acting stranger than normal. I asked him about Butters and he ran off.” Kenny asked. He was concerned by Stan’s grimace. 

“Of course I end up being the one that has to tell you…” Stan muttered. 

“Tell me what?” Kenny pressed, suddenly worried. He was gone for a few days at most, what could’ve happened in his absence that was so terrible?

Stan took a deep breath. “Ok, don’t freak out.” He started, knowing it was going to be a lost cause. “While you were in the box, Cartman wanted to get back at you for punching him, I guess. So he went after Butters.”

Kenny cut him off before he could continue, voice tight with hardly concealed anger. “Don’t tell me it was another Tweek.”

Stan shrugged. “Kinda. Different methods though.” He didn’t want to say it outright. That would almost make it too real. 

“Don’t tell me he-”

“Yeah, rape.” Stan sighed, wincing at the fresh memories. 

“That bastard.” Kenny growled under his breath, turning, like he wanted to march off and find Cartman right then. Stan managed to snag his arm before he could. “Listen dude, I know you want to get him back. We all do. But right now, Butters needs you. Tweek has been keeping him company and Kyle’s been trying to get him to communicate, keep up a conversation, but he just keeps asking for you.” Kenny didn’t even stop to consider the implications of that, what it meant or if it was ‘weird’. All he cared about was being there for Butters and murdering Cartman. But one would have to come before the other. 

“Alright. Is he in our dorm?” Kenny asked. Stan nodded, letting go of his arm, though his hand was ready to dart out again if need be. His caution wasn’t necessary. Kenny walked the memorized path quickly, mentally preparing himself along the way. Stepping into the dorm, he made sure a smile was fixed firmly on his face. “What’s up, Buttercup? It’s been a few days, huh?”

Butters absolutely lit up with joy when Kenny walked into the room. He tried to spring up, but he only got halfway up before he was falling back against the bed with a wince. “Try to avoid moving too fast, Butters, you know it isn’t good for you!” Tweek reprimanded, smiling at Butters’ pout. Kenny walked over to the bed, trying to hold his smile. He plonked down on the other side of Butters, where Tweek wasn’t. He was surprised when Butters attacked him with a hug, having expected the boy to want to avoid contact with people for a while, but it seemed like he was ok with certain ‘safe’ people if he made the first move. Kenny was glad to see even that small positive sign. 

Everything was going fine until the middle of the next day.

The rest of the afternoon and evening of the day Kenny had gotten free from solitary was spent just hanging out with Butters, and Tweek. The next morning routine finally established itself, and the whole group was together for breakfast again. Things were starting to feel normal again as everyone went off to their morning job assignments, or morning break in the case of the kitchen workers. 

The group joined for lunch as normal, and that’s when everything started to go downhill. Everyone was at the table when Cartman entered, as loud and obnoxious as always. He shoved his way into the middle of the cafeteria line, much to the annoyance of everyone who had been patiently waiting, and seemed to ignore the outpour of concentrated hatred flowing from Butters’ table. Things still might have been fine, if he hadn’t insisted on swaggering over to the very table that was trying to kill him with looks, and saying, “You know Kenny, you’re really missing out. He’s a good lay.” 

“Apparently punching you once wasn’t enough-” Kenny started to say, rising, absolutely furious. Before he could act, though, he was cut off by a blur of motion coming in from his side. Before he knew what was happening, Cartman was flat on the floor for the second time in the week, but this time the one standing over him and nursing a bruised fist was Kyle. 

“Listen, fatass, and listen good. We hate you. We want you dead. Stay away from us, stay away from our friends. This is the last time we’ll play nice.” He growled.

The guards weren’t even hurrying over this time, almost as if they were inviting Kyle to do more, but he held back, following Kenny’s example. Word of what Cartman had allegedly done had spread, and the guards were just as furious at the dumb rules that prevented justice as the prisoners. Everyone wanted him gone. That’s why, when Chef started to lead Kyle to solitary, he muttered “he’ll be back in a day or two” to the table. 

“Damn it, we just got the entire group back together, now it’s separated again,” Stan said with a huff. “Dumb Kyle and his stupid temper.” He said, but everyone could hear in his voice that he wasn’t really that mad. 

Butters smiled knowingly, starting to sign a teasing jab about Stan and Kyle being joined at the hip, when he remembered his translator was gone. Pouting, he stopped his amazing joke mid-way, with no way to convey it to the group. It was going to suck going back to primitive communication with everyone until Kyle got back. Why did it seem to take someone going to solitary to realize how important they were to the group and everyone in it?

The next two days passed in a blur. Stan spent the entire time sulking, and Butters spent the entire time finding it ridiculously hard to communicate. Tweek had started to learn some basic ASL so he could understand Butters in the kitchen, but it was basic and specific stuff, and pretty useless for general communication. He would spend a lot of his time keeping Stan company while the other threw himself a pity party, because at least he didn’t have to try and respond as he wallowed.   
\---

When Kyle finally came walking back into A block with a grin, it was a relief for everyone. “You will not believe how terrible it’s been with you gone.” Kenny lamented to him, shaking his head. “Butters has been muted even more so and Stan spent the entire three days sulking.”

Kyle laughed. “That sounds just like Stan. I assume he hasn’t moved from our section?”

“Yeah. Butters is probably there as well, but feel free to kick him out.” Kenny teased with a wink. Kyle lightly batted at his shoulder, rolling his eyes. “Shut up, McCormick.” He said, trying to sound stern, but the blush and the smile gave him away. 

\---

Later that night, Kenny was sitting up on his bed, deep in thought. Seeing Stan and Kyle, having their happy reunion even after only three days apart, it had him thinking more about Butters. He had spent most of his time in solitary contemplating the nature of his and Butters’ relationship, and the more he thought about it, the more he realized something. They had a lot of the components of a romantic relationship already. Would it really be that big of a deal to make it official, that is, assuming Butters felt the same way?

“Hey Buttercup, you up?”

He heard the other boy shift around in his bed, before raising his head and turning to look at Kenny. He nodded as if the answer wasn’t already clear, and Kenny smiled. 

“This might sound really dumb, but...I’ve been thinking a lot recently, and it’s come to my attention that I like you. Like, I really like you. You’re sweet, and funny, and fun to be around. You’ve become part of my life faster than anyone else, and basically what I’m saying is...will you go out with me?” Kenny asked, trying to conceal his uncharacteristic nerves. He didn’t need to worry. Butters answered with a frantic nod, almost tripping over his tangled blankets in an effort to get across the dorm and wrap Kenny in a hug. All of the repressed thoughts and feelings he had been avoiding came forward, and he couldn’t be happier that Kenny had been brave enough to ask, because lord knows he wouldn’t have been, if he could’ve even figured out how.

When Butters sat in his usual spot the next morning, everything seemed the same until he reached out for Kenny’s hand under the table and Kenny interlocked their fingers, pulling his and Butters’ hand up to let them rest on top of the table, showing the entire group that something had changed. They were met with immediate coos and teasing, of course, from the rest of the group. 

Butters was very sure he had never been happier than in this moment. His childhood had been filled with abusive parents and frequent beatings. His adolescence was spent in hell on earth, also known as White Forest Juvie. But now, even though he was in prison, he was happy. Because he had Kenny’s hand in his, and he was surrounded by the best friends he had ever had. He couldn’t contain the bashful smile and the blush dusting his cheeks, wanting to bottle this moment. His friends around him, all happy, Kenny beside him, laughing brightly. It was perfect.

He should have known that nothing that good could last.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry i was gone for a few days oops,,, school man, it's a lot of work,, I hope you enjoy this chapter and sorry for the little cliffhanger if it can be called that hehehe


	9. Chapter 9

So where did it all go wrong?

There were weeks of good stuff. Dating was a bit of a challenge in prison, with the fact that it wasn’t really possible to ‘go out on dates’ while also still within the prison walls. So their first ‘date’ was spent in the back of the library that had helpfully been roped off by Kyle, just enjoying each other’s presence and happily munching on some food stolen from the kitchen. 

They managed to make ‘dates’ work even when it seemed like they had run out of places to go or new ways to hang out. It was impressive what they came up with to keep it interesting. Once, Kenny had managed to turn the tv room into a planetarium. Another time, Butters had managed to make the greenhouse into a cozy hideout. 

They had their first kiss during one of these makeshift dates. They had been sitting next to each other, a natural pause in the ‘conversation’ allowing silence to settle peacefully over them. Before he knew what he was doing, Kenny was turning his head, leaning towards Butters. Butters got the message, and moved in as well, meeting him in the middle for a chaste kiss. It was nothing crazy, nothing amazingly passionate. No sparks flew, and no fireworks went off. Still, it was nice. A signal that their relationship was progressing, a sign that it was really serious. 

Plus, it was a nice bonus that they could now add sweet little kisses to their routine.

Not long after the first kiss, they began to share a bed. This was an impressive feat when one considered the size and discomfort of prison beds, but as with everything else in their relationship, they were innovative. They pushed their beds together in an attempt to make a somewhat reasonable space for two people to sleep in, and they made it work.

\---

After weeks of happy dating, Kenny had asked if Butters wanted to take the next step. Sleeping together. Sex. He didn’t want to pressure Butters at all, with trauma so fresh in his past in the same area, so it was really just a proposition. Butters had thought he was ready. After all, it was Kenny. He trusted him, he cared about him. 

Butters had not been ready.

It had progressed naturally, a chaste kiss turning more heated, Kenny pulling Butters onto his lap to deepen the angel. Of course, Kenny was amazingly sweet about everything, checking every step of the way that Butters hadn’t changed his mind. Everything was lovely. Until Butters found himself under Kenny, lazily kissing, and he felt Kenny’s hand on the waistband of his pants. He froze, remembering far to clearly the night when he had been in a very similar position. He thought it would be different because he felt safe with Kenny. But his mind connected the associations faster than his logic could fight it.

“Are you o-” Kenny started to ask, pulling back when he felt Butters freeze up. When he saw the tears on the other boy’s face, he pulled away quickly. “I’m so sorry.” He gasped. “I should’ve known you weren’t ready. I shouldn't have pushed you.” Guilt was seeping into his voice. Butters pushed himself up to his elbows, shaking his head frantically, trying to convey that it wasn’t Kenny’s fault, he was the one who had said he was ready because he mistakenly hoped he could just move past what Cartman had done. Sitting up the rest of the way, he scooted across the small bed until his leg was bumping against Kenny’s. 

He had never wished more than in this moment that he spoke. It didn’t seem like it should be hard. He had spent most of his life never shutting up. This was clearly the appropriate time to break his silence, to explain that it was ok, he was ok, it was just too soon. But Butters found himself hopelessly wordless. It had been so long that it was almost painful for him to try and force sound through his throat, and he still struggled with the idea of breaking his silence, even just this once. It was a protective blanket around him, something that had become a part of the new him in this new place. He tried to convey all of this is his expression. Of course, it failed. 

In lue of Butters’ silence, Kenny spoke again. “We should break up.” 

Butters sat back, shocked and hurt. It must have shown properly on his face this time, because Kenny quickly started to explain. “Not because of this. Well, not just because of this, but it has me thinking. I’m not good for you, Buttercup. I don’t want to pressure you into this, and I don’t want you stuck with me because I’m all you know. We met on day one, and since we’re roommates, we haven't been apart since. I love spending time with you, I really do, but I don’t want you to pick me because you don’t know anyone else. You hardly interact with anyone outside of our group, and you’ve only been here a few months. We shouldn’t have rushed into this. You should check out your options.” 

Butters shook his head frantically. Sure, he didn’t mingle much, but that’s because not many people wanted to hang around with someone who didn’t talk. Not to mention, a lot of the people in prison were scary, and he couldn’t see them as potential friends anytime soon. He was happy with the friends he had made, and he was happy being with Kenny. Sure, he hadn’t been here long, but in the short time he had, he was certain that right now, Kenny was the person he wanted to spend his time with. But again, his words failed him. 

Kenny ignored his silent protests. “Trust me on this Butters, I’ve been here a long time and the same faces get old.” He said, with a smile, but Butters could see the trembles in his hands. He could tell Kenny didn’t want to break up, and he certainly didn’t, so he didn’t know why the idiot was doing it to the both of them. He knew Kenny wanted him to be happy, and he felt bad at what had just happened, but neither of those were reasons for-

“Guess it’s late, we should probably go to bed.” Kenny said, ending the ‘conversation’ and standing. Butters could only stare, shocked as Kenny did the unthinkable, pushing Butter’s bed back against the wall and away from his own. Was that it? Was it really over that easily? It seemed it was as Kenny lay down in his own bed, tossing his blanket over himself and turning towards the wall. Butters pretended not to see the way his shoulders shook. After a second of shock, Butters hesitantly followed his example, laying down again in his own bed. 

He was glad for his silence when the tears started to flow. 

\---

The next morning, everyone could sense something was wrong. 

Butters and Kenny were too far apart, even if they were still next to each other. The negative mood radiating from both of them had everyone else at the table unable to ignore the tensions between them, awkwardly trying to make conversation with either of them only to be cut off by cut answers or just more silence. Finally, blunt Craig was the one to ask. 

“Alright you two, what the fuck is going on?” He demanded, rolling his eyes. He couldn’t care less about whatever drama they had going on, but it was making the entire table uncomfortable, and he wanted them to get the explanation over with so everyone could move on. 

Butters crossed his arms, looking to Kenny for the explanation. When there seemed to be none forthcoming from the other, he turned to Kyle himself, signing quickly. There wasn’t much to say, after all. 

At first, Kyle could hardly believe what he was seeing. He fingerspelled the words out, wanting to check that he was seeing without telling the entire table. Butters nodded, confirming that he had seen correctly the first time. 

Not wanting to jump to conclusions about the situation until he had more information, Kyle instead turned to Kenny. “What the fuck man?” He asked, still incredulous. Kenny held his silence. 

The pair had been amazingly happy together, inseparable. Even yesterday, nothing had seemed wrong or different. He could feel Stan bouncing impatiently beside him, so he turned to the rest of the group. “Butters says...Butters says they broke up?” Butters nodded again in confirmation, trying and failing to keep the anger from his face. Kenny had broken up with him. He apparently didn’t get much of a say in the matter. 

The group was in just as much shock as Kyle had been, similar thoughts going through their heads. Tweek was the first to speak up. “W-what, ack, happened?” Butters shrugged aggressively, crossing his arms again and tucking his hands away. It seemed he was done speaking on the matter, so attention turned to Kenny who had hardly said a word the entire meal. He seemed determined not to answer as well, leaving the group confused and frustrated. Before tensions could mount much higher, luckily, it was time to go to the morning jobs, but questions still lingered in the air. Everyone, expect Craig who didn’t care, were determined to get an answer from one or the other at some point during the day. 

\---

Kenny and Stan were working together in the woodshop, their job within the prison, when Stan finally couldn’t wait any longer. “Dude, what the fuck.” He asked, mirroring Kyle’s question from earlier. “You guys seemed so happy? Was this a mutual thing or…” 

Kenny winced at the last part of the question. “Well, I may have told him that I thought he should assess his options more before settling with one person and that I...uh...wasn’t his best choice.”

Stan’s brows furrowed. “And how did...Butters...feel about this?”

Kenny winced again. “He...uh...might have...been against it. But he’s hardly been here half a year Stan! He can’t know that he wants to date me truly, he hardly knows anyone else!”

 

“Goddammit Kenny, you guys were just dating! It wasn’t like he proposed! If you weren’t his best choice, he could’ve decided that later and you just would’ve broken up! Just admit you were being a self-deprecating coward and go apologize, you’re both miserable and it’s only been a few damn hours.” Stan explodes, astounded at Kenny’s logic. It reminded him too much of what he had been through, someone else trying to make his decisions for him. It had made him do reckless things, and he didn’t want the same for Butters. 

Kenny felt his own temper flare up at the aggressive tone, and he couldn’t help but snap back. “Fuck off man! If that’s where it was heading anyway, he might as well find the new guy sooner rather than later.”

“Dude, you know that isn’t what I was saying.” Stan hissed, his own anger mounting. Biting his tongue against anything else that might try to slip out, he turned back to his work, if with a bit more aggression than before. He didn't want to start a full-scale argument and get them in trouble in the middle of work, and Kenny seemed content to let the matter lay as well, even if he was treating the wood he was sanding with particular malice. 

\---

Meanwhile, Butters was telling his own version of the story. He and Kyle were hanging around in the library, while Butters was on break and Kyle was ‘working’. Sensing what Butters had to say was going to be rather involved, Kyle had found some loose scraps of paper in the library office, and managed to find the stub of a pencil as well. This method of communication was easier, but paper wasn’t super easy to find since the prison liked to allot it to the education programs, leaving none for everyone else. Butters took the paper gratefully, and scribbled furiously for a few minutes before handing it back. 

Kyle read over the information quickly, before looking back up at Butters, eyebrow raised. “So you’re basically telling me that he broke up with you because he thought he wasn’t good enough or some bullshit like that?” He asked. Butters nodded, looking crossly at the middle ground over Kyle’s shoulder. He was still upset that Kenny had completely ignored his feelings on the matter, and hadn’t even tried to talk about it. It had happened so fast and it wasn’t fair, goddammit. Kyle seemed to share his annoyance, so he took some small comfort in that.

“Listen, Kenny is just being an idiot.” Kyle reassured. “He cares about you more than anything and once he realizes he has his head up his ass and finds a way to remove it, he’ll be back to normal.”

Butters just huffed, crossing his arms again. It was clear that he was still aggravated, and Kyle could sense that he wanted to change the topic. “Do you wanna practice some more grammar?” He asked instead of pressing the issue more, smoothly switching the conversation. Butters nodded, posture relaxing. He stood to go get the books they were using, and Kyle watched him walk off, feeling a pang of sadness at the drama the poor boy was being put through. He resolved to talk with Kenny himself later. 

\---

Tweek and Craig got the full story during lunch prep. Butters asked if he could keep the paper with the explanation to show them, and Kyle hadn’t seen a reason to refuse him. Butters and Tweek sat up on the counter, the former watching the latter read. Craig continued doing their actual job, and directing the other prisoners in the kitchen, while the two gossiped in the back. He appreciated Tweek having another friend that he wasn’t terrified of, but they had way too much fun slacking together. He really couldn’t see the appeal of the drama permeating their friend circle. All it would do was make everyone sad or angry or both, and it was really annoying when people weren’t getting along. 

Tweek had had much the same reaction as Kyle. The general consensus seemed to be that Kenny was being stupid, and Butters would have felt almost bad at how many people seemed to be promising to bombard him with scoldings later if he wasn’t so mad. 

\---

Butters was determined not to see Kenny during their afternoon break. Instead, he retreated to the now empty library with special permission, determined to use his time constructively instead of sulking. He was absorbed in his books when he was startled by another person thumping into the seat at the other end of the long table. He had to physically stop himself from scrambling away frantically, knuckles going white as his grip on the book tightened until he heard the binding creek with the strain. 

Cartman.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> school keeps making me forget to update what a struggle,, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! a tiny pinch of fluff before we're right back at that sadness oops guess i can't write too much joy ;p


	10. Chapter 10

Kenny found himself cornered in his bed, three annoyed faced glaring down at him (and one apathetically standing by). “Hello to you guys too?” He said, confusion clearly written across his face.

“Don’t just ‘Hello’ us like you're not actively, ack, in the process of, gah, running both your life and Butters’!” Tweek squawked. Craig nodded supportively from behind the group, but he really didn’t seem that invested in the whole ordeal. Kyle and Stan nodded with a bit more conviction. “Yeah dude! It’s been how many hours and you’ve hardly spoken a word all day. Butters is pissed as hell, and it’s making everyone else annoyed. Just accept that you were wrong, or at least that your reasoning was dumb, and apologize.” Stan demanded, rolling his eyes. 

“Fuck that! I’m not apologizing for giving him the opportunity to make more friends and shit.” Kenny grumbled, annoyed himself. He hated how everyone was ganging up on him, half of them not even having heard his side of the issue. How was that fair? 

“You can’t make his decisions for him!” Kyle argued, trying to ignore the aggravated look Stan shot his way. “Listen, I learned that the hard way.” He clarified, coughing pointedly in Stan’s direction. “You may think you know what’s best for him, but at least talk it out with him!”

“How can I when he doesn’t even talk!” Kenny exploded, throwing his hands up in frustration. “I can’t ever tell what’s ok, and what’s not. I can’t tell what he’s thinking half the time! What am I supposed to do!” 

Everyone looked incredulous. “Just because it’s hard doesn’t mean you should give up on it!” Stan said. 

Kenny looked even more aggravated, if that was possible at this point. “You know that isn’t why I did it. Just go away. Stay out of this, it has nothing to do with you.” 

“Fine, but this isn’t just about you. We’re worried about you both, man. Just...think about what we said ok?” Stan said, turning and leaving, the rest of the group on his heels after a moment of heavy silence. 

Kenny went back to sulking in peace, trying to ignore the guilt that was bombarding his mind. 

\---

Butters wasn’t sure how to react to the intruder at first, frozen like a deer in headlights. He wanted to run as far away as physically possible, but his mind was also teeming with questions. What was he doing here? How had he even gotten in? What did he want? He seemed to be just sitting there, harmlessly gazing down at the scuffed tabletop as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. He didn’t look up until Butters tapped on the table, getting Cartman’s attention. 

“Oh, hey Butters. Whatcha reading?” Eric asked, voice casual, face open and appropriately interested. He seemed amazingly different from the other times Butters had seen him around. There was no trace of the aggressive, mean man who had terrorized his dreams for weeks. Hesitant, confused, Butters raised his book off the table, showing the cover. 

“ASL? That makes sense, you don’t talk, right? That’s funny, I learned some signs ages ago, but I don’t know if I remember.” Eric said, looking like he was thinking hard, as if trying to recall what he knew. Picking his hands off of the table where they had been resting, he quickly signed a few sentences Butters couldn’t even pretend to keep up with, the grammar and syntax alone far beyond his self-taught levels. Seeing the confusion on Butters’ face, Eric frowned. “Sorry, was that incorrect?” Butters slowly shook his head, confused at the entire situation. 

Eric Cartman had shown up in the library with him when inmates were supposed to be in their Blocks, had sat down and started acting very nice, and knew sign language. He wasn’t sure how to respond, left reeling by the sudden personality switch. 

Eric seemed oblivious to the inner turmoil, focusing instead on the present. He seemed to be waiting for a response of some kind, so Butters quickly thought hard, and carefully signed back. 

“Oh, too advanced? Sorry.” Butters was getting more confused by the second. This apologetic, sheepish Eric wasn’t the same Cartman who had done such terrible things, right? He had to have a...a twin or something. Literally anything would make more sense than what seemed to be the reality right now. 

“I could try and teach you a little if you want? Sometimes it’s easier to learn from someone else than out of a book.” Eric said, with a soft smile, and Butters couldn’t help but let his guard down. He knew he was gullible, knew he was always leaving himself vulnerable. But it was his nature to think the best of everyone, to give second chances. He thought he had met the exception to the rule with Cartman. He swore to never forgive him for what he had done. But here he was again, forgiving too easily as soon as someone showed the slightest improvement in character. He hadn’t really actually forgiven him for what he had done, he wasn’t stupid. But he found the tempting offer of learning from someone who seemed far more advanced in ASL a tempting one, and he found himself trying to reason away who was offering. 

So, he nodded at the offer. He hadn’t known then he was sealing his fate. Even if he had, he wasn’t sure he would've done anything differently. 

He spent the rest of the time until dinner sitting at the table, learning more than he had learned in the past week within those few hours. Eric had been right, it was easier to learn from someone else, and he was a surprisingly good teacher. He showed him all sorts of shortcuts and ‘cheats’ to make things easier to remember that the books wouldn’t teach. He had hardly noticed as Eric moved gradually closer to him over the course of the lesson, until the other had hesitantly reached out to correct a hand motion. 

Butters had startled badly, a shudder reflexive tearing through his body. But when Eric pulled back an inch, hands still hovering, but not moving, held out in a gentle, open gesture, Butters took a deep breath and nodded. It was to help him learn, he argued with himself. It would be easier to have the other correct him this way, rather than try and give confusing direction. He was an expert at justifying things to himself. 

When they finally parted ways, it was dinner time. They went their separate ways, with a soft promise of maybe doing that again some time. Butters hated Cartman, was revolted by being near him. But he had learned so much in such a short time, and somehow, it was hard not to trust the new personality Eric was putting forward. It was just studying, Butters argued on his way to the cafeteria. There was nothing wrong with that.

\--- 

When he arrived at dinner duty, Tweek and Craig were already hard at work. He signed a quick sorry for being late, hurrying to join in. He almost managed to forget the tension between him and Kenny in the busy afternoon and the turmoil of the kitchen. He was harshly brought back to reality when they joined the rest of the group at their table. It was just like on the first day, there was no room for him to sit. Kenny was sprawled over what was usually both of their spots, tray directly in the middle. Noticing his approach, Stan nudged the other, trying to encourage him to sit up straighter. When he was ignored, he hissed a sharp “Kenny!” but it was too late. The blond wasn’t planning on moving, and Butters was already dejectedly wandering away, noticing for the first time since his first day how crowded and unfriendly the cafeteria truly looked. 

Everyone at the main table was staring at Kenny in shocked silence. Everyone loved Butters, and had since he had first made an appearance in the group. But nobody could bring themselves to go after him. They weren’t ready to cut off a lifelong friend any farther for someone they had known a few months. They would have to work it out themselves, if they ever would. Sometimes, maybe it was better to stay out of it. 

Butters finally found an empty section at the end of one of the tables with the least hostile looking inmates. He had never been more aware of his small size and cute appearance, feeling like everyone's eyes were on him as he took those first steps away from the table that was his protection. He watched as his only friends seemed to turn their backs on him, and he tried to keep the tears that threatened to spill at bay. Gently placing his tray down in the empty area, he tried to make himself as small as possible, trying to avoid any more attention. He pushed his food around, hardly putting any of it into his mouth. He couldn’t eat when his throat felt tight and knotted, and his stomach was shriveled. 

He felt abandoned. 

The next day wasn’t much better. His friends, minus Kenny of course, still hung out with him. He still practiced ASL with Kyle in the library, and joked around with Tweek in the kitchen. He still fell asleep only a few steps away from Kenny every night. 

But he had started to eat alone. After being essentially kicked off the island, he had established himself in the empty spot he had found, doing his best to ignore everyone else around him as he pushed his food around and returned his tray full. He also ignored the guilty glances coming from what had been his table in the very recent past. He knew they all felt bad, but none of them did anything. It seemed even Kenny would send him a look or two, further confusing Butters as to how the other felt about him. He clearly still cared, but he was being such as asshole that it sure was hard to tell sometimes. 

He noticed the occasional guilty glances, but he was finally awarded their full attention one lunch. Everything was going as normal at first, Butters was sitting alone looking pathetic and hardly eating. 

Then, Eric came over, thumping down beside him, far enough away that it wasn’t uncomfortable but close enough that it was clear who he was sitting with. 

They had been spending more and more time together, strangely enough. They continued their study sessions during break, increasing in frequency until it was almost every day that they were learning together. Kyle had noted with amazement Butters’ rapid improvement; he could hardly keep up. It was enough for Butters and Eric to be having full conversations in ASL, Eric moving slowly enough for Butters to understand and Butters allowing Eric to fix his stumbling sentences until he got them perfect. Still, Butters had been keeping that reasoning behind his improvement. 

So when Cartman sat down beside Butters, the could practically feel all of his friends’ heads snap in his direction.

He had perfected ignoring their looks by this point, so he just carried on as normal, not acknowledging either them or Eric. As for Eric, he seemed to be content with the silence.

At the other table, jaws had dropped. Even Kenny, who had been doing his best to sulk and look apathetic for the past few days, sat up straighter. None of them could believe what they were seeing. Well, they could totally believe that Cartman had sensed a weakness within their group in the ostracized Butters, and had pounced. What they couldn’t believe is that Butters was still sitting there, acting like nothing was different. However, it didn’t take long for Kyle to quickly connect some dots when he saw them start to sign back and forth, more advanced than he could understand. He must have been the one Butters was studying with when he was disappearing during breaks. He had to give Cartman credit, it was clever. Not only was he able to earn back some of the trust he had shattered, he was able to keep him on a different level of communication so that nobody else, not even Kyle, could understand what they were saying when they conversed. 

He had never hated Cartman more. 

The group had silently ruled to stay out of the drama, but Cartman was an addition they should’ve been expecting. Kyle couldn’t keep his neutral stance any longer. With a scowl, he turned to Kenny. “Are you ready to get your shit together and apologize? Cartman is an expert at exploiting weaknesses. If he was able to get Butters within a few feet of him within this short of a time period, who knows what will happen next? Butters is gullible, he trusts too easily. Do you want a repeat of last time you abandoned him?” He snapped. Immediately, guilt flooded his body. That last bit was a step too far, and Kenny’s face showed it. 

Kyle started to apologize, but before he could, Kenny cut him off. “Butters is a big boy, he can make his own choices about who he hangs out with.” Kenny hissed. Kyle tried to control his temper, knowing that he had already made the situation worse. Kenny McCormick was a stubborn bastard if he was anything. Pushing him too far would get the opposite of desired results. So he held his tongue, and turned back to his food. Nobody commented on why the rest of the meal was silent. 

Meanwhile, between Cartman and Butters, Cartman had been the one to start the conversation. It had started simply enough, with him asking why Butters was sitting alone as if he didn’t know. The other responded slowly at first, but picked up speed when Eric had prompted him into retelling the story. Eric was the picture of sympathy, agreeing and encouraging him in all of the right places. Maybe the too-good-to-be-true appearances of Eric whenever he was most vulnerable should’ve made Butters suspicious. 

He wanted a friend to confide in too badly to think it through logically.

Over the next few days, a new routine was established, where Butters would sit by himself, and Eric would show up at some point during the meal and sit with him. Sometimes they would talk, sometimes they would just sit in silence. Eric always seemed to know which one Butters needed that day. Each day he got a little closer. 

It only took a few days of this before Butter’s friends were truly concerned. Kyle was the first to ask about the seemingly newfound friendship between the two unlikely people. Butters just sharply replied that Kenny had told him to meet new people, and if he was so intent on cutting him out to make it happen he didn’t get a say in who those new people were. Or, that’s what Kyle gathered from the signs and the scowl on Butters’ face. He wasn’t sure how to respond to the aggression coming from the normally sweet boy, fully blaming Cartman for being a negative influence already over such a short time. 

Cartman continued to sit with Butters at meals, and learn with him during breaks, but everyone assumed that would be it. After all, it was working in annoying everyone Cartman seemed dedicated to annoying, and it gave Butters his small amount of revenge as well. 

Absolutely nobody was ready for it when one day, at the end of lunch, they stand and walk out together, Butters pressed against Cartman's side as the other throws an annoying sly wink back at the shocked table of Butters’ friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry i didn't post for so long, school is still my excuse!
> 
> also I wanna clarify that even though this chapter seemed really butters/cartman shippy, this story isn't changing who the main pair is! The next chapter will clarify things again, so be patient and things will start to resolve/make sense again soon!
> 
> I cant believe that there is only one more chapter! I'll try to post it sometime this weekend, so stay tuned for the resolution! I know things seem super far from resolving right now, but it'll make sense super soon ;p Thanks for sticking around this long everyone! I love all of your comments and kudos!


	11. Chapter 11

Of course, none of them saw that as soon as they were in the hall, Butters was squirming out of Cartman’s grip, moving farther away from him once again. Eric had convinced him that the best way to really get back at Kenny for distancing himself was to get with someone else, even if it was just pretend. Coyly, he had proposed himself, because he was really the only other friend Butters had, not to mention it would allow himself to get his own revenge on the main group. And just the fact that it was him Butters chose would really piss them all off. It made sense enough to Butters, and he found it hard to refuse Eric’s earnest and convincing tone. 

So they had agreed to do that little dramatic walk out, to really prove a point to the main group. However, being that close to Cartman even for a few moments was enough to make Butters’ skin crawl, as his memories tried to overthrow the solid wall he had built up in his mind to hold them back. He wanted to show Kenny that he was being dumb, but it was probably best to do so with minimal physical contact. He didn’t want to think too hard about Eric and his past actions compared to his sudden change attitude. It was easier to just avoid thinking about it all together. 

\---

Over the next few days, Butters was seen more and more in the company of Cartman, often with the larger male making contact with the other as if trying to show possession. It was enough to truly worry his friends. If they had been able to try and ignore the strange new developments before, they were being almost forced to pay attention now. It had quickly become clear that Kenny wasn’t going to do anything about it even though he had been closest to the blonde, his stubborn pride overriding his mounting anger and concern at the situation. 

Kyle tried to talk to Butters again, but the other had just guiltily scurried away when he tried to breach the topic, with the lackluster excuses. Kyle had asked Tweek to try and bring it up when they were working so Butters couldn’t run away, but he just dodged the questions by ignoring them, and Tweek stopped pressing the issue because it was too much pressure on himself to get answers that clearly weren’t forthcoming. 

For a while, it seemed like this would just be the new state of their friendships. Butters still hung out with everyone, but in his free time he ran off to be with Eric. It wasn’t hard for everyone to notice how that was impacting Butters’ personality, the sweet boy turning sour due to prolonged exposure to the toxic mass that was Cartman. Even if the other was pretending to be a good person, that couldn't change who he was fundamental. 

All it took for this weird new balance to break was for Butters to realize that too. 

\---

Butters was having deja vu. How had he found himself underneath Cartman again, all shreds of his nice guy act gone? It hadn’t taken much. 

Butters had been delivered a note from someone he hadn’t recognized that told him to meet with Eric that night. At first, he had been a bit suspicious, not to mention worried about getting in trouble. He left the note laying on his bed when he went to get ready for the night, and when he returned, it looked like Kenny had wanted to say something to him. He had clearly read the note. But knowing the other wanted to stop him just motivated the other to go through with the request, earlier hesitance forgotten. Butters wanted to prove he could be just as stubborn and petty as Kenny. 

That’s how he had found himself in Cartman’s block. He was in block B, because he had a reputation for being a rougher inmate. They never had anything on him, but they put him in B anyway because they knew, even if they couldn’t prove it. This was Butters first time entering the B block. The inmates within weren’t the worst in the prison by far, but they were a bit more serious than those he was familiar with in A. As he made his way back to the section he had been told Cartman was in, he tried to keep his head down and walk fast, suddenly very aware how much people were eyeing him. He was suddenly a bit thankful for all the parading around Cartman had been doing with him because he was sure if he wasn’t connected to the other, he might not have made it to the end of the block. 

He did make it in one piece though, slipping into the dorm with palpable relief. He looked around, taking in the new area. It wasn’t much different from his own of course, but he noticed there was only one bed. Eric noticed his gaze linger on the empty area where the second bed should’ve been, and he smiled, though it was a little sharp. “I bet you’re wondering where the roommate is. Me and the warden have a little...deal that I don’t have to bunk with anyone.” He explained, not bothering to elaborate. Butters didn’t ask him to. He wasn’t sure he wanted details. 

Instead, he turned his attention to the other, wondering why he had been summoned. Cartman just patted the space beside him, indicating that he wanted Butter to join him. Butters was immediately suspicious, and a little nervous, concerned about what exactly the other wanted from him. Still, he obediently sat, his naive and trusting nature preparing to screw him over once again. 

He jumped when a hand landed on his thigh. His immediate reaction was to try and squirm away, but when fingers dug into his leg, he stilled again, finally understanding what a fool he had been. 

“It was fun messing with you and with Kinny and everyone, but I’m bored now. So why don’t you do me a favor and do the only thing you’re really good for?” Cartman sneered, taking his hand off Butters thigh to shove him backwards so he sprawled across the bed. He clambered over the frozen blonde, smirking. He didn’t expect any resistance, that was clear. 

Butters was immediately thrown back into the past, memories he had been suppressing coming to the forefront of his mind. But something was different this time. He refused to let it be a repeat. Weeks of anger, hurt, rejection from his friends and years of repressed feelings were bubbling to the surface as Cartman obliviously continued on with what he was doing, not seeing the change in the atmosphere. 

Butters snapped when Cartman went for his waistband. His expression of frozen fear turned into one of rage, and he started to squirm and flail, kicking and hitting every inch of the boy he could reach. Even when Cartman backed off, dazed and trying to defend himself from the attack, Butters kept going, letting the anger he felt towards his friends for abandoning him, the anger he felt from Cartman abusing his trust, spill into his aggression. 

When he finally came out of the violent daze, he realized he was standing over a cowering Cartman fists bloody and tears pouring down his face. He wasn’t sure if they were tears of anger or of sadness. Maybe they were both. He couldn’t help the sick satisfaction at seeing the bully like that, reduced to nothing, his manipulation useless against fists. Butters wasn’t even that strong, so it really only amplified the power he felt to know that deep down, Cartman was really just that weak. 

\---

When Butters walked back into his and Kenny’s dorm, after lights out, with blood on his hands and tears on his face, it seemed it was finally enough to break Kenny’s stubborn silence. Kenny sat up as soon as Butters walked in, eyes adjusted to the dark and allowing him to see at least some of the damage. Butters walked over to his own bed and sat on the edge, just blankly looking at the floor. 

“Dude, what the fuck happened?” Was all Kenny had time to ask before flashlights were illuminating the walkway outside of their dorm. Butters didn’t react, trying to come to terms with the uncharacteristic violence he had just engaged in. He didn’t regret it. But he did regret going as far as to conspire with Cartman just to make someone jealous. If they had just been civilized adults, sat down and worked it out...but of course that would’ve been too easy. 

He wasn’t even surprised when the guards entered. Of course he expected consequences, but Cartman moved quickly. He wondered what he had told the guards. He wished he had been able to get a better look at the damage he had done to Cartman, but the limited visibility had worked against him. When the flashlights bathed Butters in their light, he couldn’t help but be reminded of the night he had killed his parents. He was calm then like he was calm now. Normally he had a crippling fear of authority, but for some reason, when that fear should’ve kicked in the most, it left completely and he just felt hollow and empty. 

Kenny gasped as he saw Butters in the blinding lights, getting a good look at him. He assumed that the confrontation was with Cartman, and speaking from experience, that was always a one-sided thing when it got physical. But if Butters had that much blood on his bruised knuckles, he wanted to see what Cartman was looking like. 

When the guards dragged him off to solitary, Butters went easily, limply following after them, still with that dazed look clouding over his vision. He wondered how long he would be locked up. Solitary, speaking from experience at his old prison, was the worst place imaginable. The human mind could only take so much isolation before it snapped, and he had a low threshold. He just hoped that the guards’ hatred of Cartman and Cartman’s own history of provoking people would get him leniency. 

At breakfast the next day, Kenny was still a bit in shock. He knew that Butters was in prison due to a violent crime, so he should’ve expected that when pushed hard enough the blonde would snap, but it had still caught him by surprise. There was something so terribly wrong with seeing blood on Butters’ hands. As soon as he had sat down, he was being bombarded with questions he couldn’t answer, everyone wondering what Butters had done. News spread impossibly fast when gossip was the majority of conversations, so everyone knew where he was, the details were just fuzzy on the why. 

Kenny explained what he knew, but it wasn’t much. He assumed the other person in the confrontation had been Cartman, but all he really knew was that Butters had stumbled back into the dorm covered in blood and had been dragged off before he could ask any questions. 

He knew that even though nobody was saying it outright, they somewhat blamed his rash actions for Butters’ predicament. He couldn’t blame them, he was blaming himself too. He knew that he had been pushing his own fears onto Butters, and cutting off their relationship was dumb. He knew he hadn’t given the other a chance to offer his own opinion on the matter, and that he had been ignoring his friends when all they wanted to do was help. This was an amazing mess. 

He spent the day wondering how he had even survived before Butters had been in the prison. Even when they had been fighting, he had at least seen him around, but now that he was completely removed from the picture, it was amazing how much he noticed. His other friends were obviously still there, and he still hung out with them a ton. They would always be his family. But Butters had brought something into his life that he hadn’t truly appreciated when the other was around. He missed him, and he vowed to apologize for being stupid as soon as Butters was out. Apologise, and see if maybe, just maybe the other would take him back even after he had been so terrible to him. 

\---

Meanwhile, Butters was reaquanticing himself with isolation. It had been so long since he had been truly alone, because it was hard to ever be alone in prison. He had way too much time to think, and he didn’t like the thoughts. He couldn’t help but reflect on the mess that had been his life in the past few weeks, and blame himself. Instead of trying to help Kenny see that he was wrong, or talking about it with him, he had just gone off to sulk. What's worse, he had ended up doing dumb things just to make the other jealous. That wasn’t like him, to be so petty and nasty over anything, much less something of such a small scale. Looking back on his actions put things into perspective far too much, and he was practically drowning in the regret and guilt. 

It was clear now that Kenny had been feeling self-doubt, feeling like he wasn’t good enough. He had shown it in a dumb way, Butters wouldn’t dispute that. But this whole situation had blown far out of proportion and he couldn’t help but trace a lot of the blame to himself, deserved or not.

He promised himself that as soon as he was out, he would apologize. But somehow, that didn’t seem like it would be enough. This all started because of a lack of clear communication. There was one way to fix that.

The first few times he tried to speak, it didn’t work. He hadn’t made a sound for months, and it was so impossibly hard to do it now. But he kept trying, and before long, he was able to say short little words to himself. It felt silly, speaking to himself in a big empty cell, and he was sure he looked ridiculous. But he wanted to truly properly apologize when he was out and the first step of that was to relearn speaking. 

With a few days of practice, he was able to speak easier. His voice was still creaky and out of practice, but he had spent a long time as a chatterbox, and vocalization wasn’t something so easily forgotten. Plus, practicing what he was going to say and how he was going to say it kept his mind off of the crippling isolation he was starting to really feel. Trying to fend off the claustrophobia settling in, he gave himself small tasks to do, such as walking around the small space a certain number of times or thinking up certain sentences to practice. It was something, but not nearly enough. Time was already slow in prison, but in solitary time was frozen. 

\---

When he heard the door lock click, he jumped to his feet, relief palpable on his face. He had no idea how long it had been, but he was sure it had felt like a lot more time had passed than really had. As soon as he was walked back to the main area of the psion and released, he knew immediately what he had to do. He made his way back to A block, and went directly to his and Kennys’ dorm. He saw the entire area was empty, but he wasn’t deterred. He sat down on Kenny’s bed, hoping the other wouldn’t be too upset with him for invading into his half of the room. He just wanted to be the first thing the other saw upon return. 

He was successful. It wasn’t long before Butters heard the hallways begin to fill with loud voices and many people walking. Kenny walked into the dorm casually, laughing and saying something to someone still in the hallway. He froze as soon as he caught sight of Butters perched nervously on his bed. Waving off the person he was talking to, he came across the room slowly, as if afraid Butters would disappear should he move too fast. “Buttercup? Are you really out?” He asked, clearly astonished. Truth be told, Kenny had expected more than a few days of punishment for such a serious fight, even if it had been with Cartman. It turns out he had underestimated the hatred the staff truly had for the other male. 

Butters couldn’t help the tears that sprung to his eyes at the nickname. It had been so terribly long since he had heard it, or much of anything, from Kenny. 

As soon as the other started to cry, Kenny abandoned his slow approach, running the last few steps and practically throwing himself onto the bed, pulling the other into his lap so he could wrap him in a big hug. “I’m so sorry. I’ve been such an idiot.” Kenny mumbled into Butters’ hair, squeezing him against his chest as if he could keep him from disappearing again with sheer strength. 

In this position, Butters had his face buried in Kenny’s chest, so when he uttered his first words to anybody since entering his new home, Kenny was almost completely convinced that he imagined it. But when Butters pulled back and said it again, there was no doubt. 

“I’m sorry too. I...I l-love you.” Butters said as clearly as he could around the tears, voice still creaky and soft. 

It was Kenny’s turn to cry, tears building up in his eyes as he tried to blink them away. “I-” He said, unsure of how to respond to such a profound confession. He was still trying to adjust to Butters saying anything at all, much less something so powerful. He couldn’t come up with anything, so he just pulled the other forward again in another strong hug. After another second, he managed to mumble a quiet “I love you too”. He let his tears fall when Butters couldn’t see them, his carefully thought out statements and apologies gone from his mind. All he knew was that Butters was back, in his arms where he belonged, and everything was going to be ok. 

They had a lot to talk about, and they had a lot to work out. But as they sat there, in each others’ embrace, tears flowing freely, they both knew it in their hearts.

Everything was going to be ok.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been putting off posting this bc i feel like the ending is weak, but maybe I'll write an epilogue some day. Until then, this is the end! This story probably has a lot of flaws, but it is my first finished work, so i'm proud of it! Thank you so much to roloreily for inspiring me with her own story, and thank you to everyone who left a comment or kudo or even came and gave the story a try!


End file.
